


The Benefits of Doubt

by Payne_N_Uranus



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Brotherly Love, Deaf Character, Epic, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Original Character(s), Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon Training, Queer Friendly, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Yay Androgyny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:46:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 51,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6218740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Payne_N_Uranus/pseuds/Payne_N_Uranus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian had decided a long time ago that the life of a Pokemon Trainer just wasn't meant for him. But then his little brother had to go and screw everything up. Now it's up to him to make things right, though without the help of some new friends and new perspectives, it's gonna get a little rocky. After all, getting conned into accidentally taking down Team Galactic isn't exactly as fun as it sounds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone! First of all, thank you for taking a chance on what promises to be a long and hopefully entertaining Pokemon ride. First time posting anything on this site, so forgive me if things adjust here and there in regards to warnings and tags. I'm new at this.
> 
> In any case, let it be known that this epic includes all new characters carefully crafted by yours truly, and that the story will loosely follow the plot of the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum games, though with a bit of creative license. I've held a deep and undying love for Pokemon since I was a kid, so I pulled out all the stops. Please let me know what you think!

**~`*`~**

**Chapter One: Baby Steps**

~`*`~

 

Morning.

It came as it always did, sneaking fingers of early sunlight through the cracks in the bedroom blinds. They crept up the length of the full-sized bed to press impatiently at a pair of heavy eyelids. Thin membranes squeezed together tightly in response, but did little to stave off the physical presence of the day; the day that would begin it all.

Dorian tried to trick himself into enjoying the warmth on his face, the glowing remnants of sleep on his unresponsive limbs, the laxness of the muscles. It worked, until his brain started thinking too much. _What time is it? Is Kai already up? Will he remember everything he needs for today?_

_Will he leave without saying goodbye?_

Not long after that last thought, Dorian admitted defeat and peeled his eyes open just enough to prevent the morning sun from blinding him. Even once they had adjusted to the light, he continued to stare emptily at the window; observing how the small tendrils managed to slip through the wooden slats and realizing with a distant note of exasperation that he had left his curtains open last night. The mundane nature of the thought calmed him again. It gave reality a chance to sink into his consciousness so that maybe that stubborn part of him would finally admit defeat.

Dorian Calder had attended many graduations from the Pokémon Academy during his time in Jubilife City. Most children interested in pursuing a career as a trainer attended the Academy until they turned ten, when they were then legally allowed to request their own personal Pokémon starter. At the end of each month, any trainer whose birthday had passed during that time could choose to take part in a graduation ceremony. Though many elected to do so immediately after their tenth birthday, every few months or so there would be at least one student who stayed and continued their studies until they felt more comfortable with the material. For nearly ten years, Dorian witnessed childhood friends embarking on their journey, and friends of the family that had followed shortly afterward.

Now, here he was, eighteen years old and about to witness his own little brother becoming a full-fledged Pokémon trainer.

He sat up in bed, the rustling of the sheets filling the quiet of his room, and ran a palm down his face to rub some wakefulness in the skin. The teen took a slow, steadying breath through the space of his fingers.

_Time to get ready._

 

~`*`~

 

The Calder residence wasn't truly modest by any means, but it had a quiet sort of grandeur to it – a decadence that was soft and unassuming. It was a Western-style house, two stories tall, located at the periphery of the city. Uncommon for a home in Jubilife, where towering apartment buildings and corporate structures lined the urban streets, but Dorian's father had chosen this place to build his family. Merely renting a duplex was not something he would settle for. Instead, the man invested in polished marble and wooden floors, sleek mahogany stairways, and plush carpeting that ran through long, arching hallways. Textured walls were decorated with renowned paintings of landscapes and honored family members, entrances to rooms marked with various artistic busts and vases blooming with live flowers.

Dorian was freshly changed, scrubbed, and brushed by the time he emerged from his bedroom. It took him far too long to decide on an outfit, but he’d finally settled on a stark white button-up with a thin black tie and matching sweater vest due to the morning chill. Pressed black slacks completed his ensemble. His dark, shaggy hair lay tame, combed carefully across his scalp; narrow-framed glasses perched smartly on the bridge of his nose. Dorian wanted to look his best for the ceremony, regardless of the lingering feelings of unease that slowed his routine. Even if his insides couldn’t stay together, at least his outward appearance didn't give it away.

On the way down the hall, Dorian passed Midori, their housekeeper. A thin figure with a hawkish face, Midori had been a part of the family since before Dorian had been born. Though she seemed focused on the bust in front of her, the grey-haired woman pointedly stepped into his path before he could slip passed. With a roll of his eyes, the teen responded by obligingly coming to a halt for her inspection. Midori eyed him up and down rapidly before she gave him an approving nod, and turned her attention back to the bust she had been dusting.

The bespectacled teen couldn’t help a small smile at the gesture, though it quickly faded as the importance of the day came to the forefront of his mind..

It was hard to say why this particular milestone caught Dorian so off-guard, to be honest. Kai had been yammering about it for months before, going on long-winded fantasies about how he'd be helping Professor Rowan in the field with his studies and how he'd discover all sorts of legendary Pokémon from lore – all such nonsense that Dorian could easily brush off as the doe-eyed dreams of young children. Yet here he was, standing at the top of the stairs, hoping beyond all hope that perhaps he had just mistaken the date and there was still time to protect his baby brother from doing something unbelievably stupid in order to make those dreams come true.

However, when he finally made his way into the dining room, there was Kai, chatting animatedly to his mother over a bowl of cereal as he waved his spoon to emphasize his points. His mother, Suzu, sat across from the boy looking more than a little amused. She was dressed as sharply as Dorian, wearing a frilled, cream-colored floor length skirt and a black wool cardigan over a soft yellow blouse. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a modest bun, exposing dangling silver earrings and a charm necklace resting against her clavicle.

Kai looked as if he was in the middle of getting dressed himself, with his white silk tie strewn along the end of the table and his polished black leather belt curled beside it. As for the rest of the Jubilife Academy uniform, the younger boy's bright crimson dress shirt was still untucked from his off-white slacks, and the charcoal blazer was slung across the back of his chair. Even Kai's hair was still a mess, longer than Dorian's own, falling into his eyes and cowlicks sticking up in the back. At least the boy's glasses were sitting straight on his face for once.

“There are three of them, right? All spread out over Sinnoh, Professor Rowan said so. He thinks there's a way to summon the one that's at the lake close to us, but he said he needs to go to the library in Canalave – “to confirm his suspicions” he says – so he's gonna leave right after the ceremony and head back to the lab. Cool, huh? I hope I get to go with him. I've been reading all about it, so I'm sure I could help.” Kai grabbed his belt and started slipping it through the waist of his pants, smiling hugely with excitement. He looked down too quickly to make sure he hadn't missed a loop, and his glasses toppled off and onto the table with a small clatter. “Oops,” he laughed, and shoved them back on.

“Yes, dear, I'm sure you could,” his mother nodded obligingly over her cup of coffee.

Dorian gave a loud sigh to announce his presence, and strolled towards the table for his own breakfast.

“Don't be foolish, Kai,” he told the boy, sitting down next to Suzu, whose good humor disappeared immediately in order to shoot him a look of warning. He kissed her cheek in greeting, but otherwise paid her no heed. He then began helping himself to the spread of food waiting on the table – a piece of toast here, a bit of bacon there – before going on to address his younger brother, who was now frowning down at the table. Dorian ignored this and continued rationally, “Even if that were something he would consider doing, you're still a new trainer. The Professor wouldn't bring along someone inexperienced with Pokémon for field research.”

Kai's head shot up, the frown turning quickly into a heated glower. “I am _not_ inexperienced! I've been working with Professor Rowan for a long time and he's had me help him in a lot of field research before now!”

The older boy rolled his eyes.

“Sure he has,” Dorian allowed complacently, and he felt his mother give a small huff. They both knew that Kai had been going to visit Prof. Rowan a lot in Sandgem recently, though Dorian figured that the man was delegating menial tasks for his brother to do just to keep him occupied while the professor continued on his more serious projects. Bearing the name “Calder” opened a lot of doors, but money and reputation only went so far. “However, this is different than studying the local Pokémon population. This is real work, and he has to take it seriously. He probably won't want to risk anything by involving a kid. Just don't get your hopes up, okay?” The teen offered a small smile to take the sting out of his words before biting into a bacon slice.

“What do you know?” Kai grumped, sinking back into his seat and stabbing at his soggy cereal with the spoon.

“Hey now,” Suzu cut in consolingly, shooting an imploring look at both of her boys. “Today is a big day, okay? Let's not spoil it. Kaiten, it's almost time to go. Finish up and tuck in your shirt. I'll have Midori fetch a brush for your hair.”

Kai threw down his utensil with a grunt. “I'm done,” he said, shoving his chair away from the table and getting up without meeting anyone's gaze. “I'll brush it myself. Let's just go already.” He grabbed his jacket with one hand, and started shoving his shirt into the waistline of his slacks as he walked off.

His mother sighed, and leveled her disappointed look at Dorian. He stared back, chewing the meat in his mouth. “What?” he asked once he had swallowed.

This time, she was the one to roll her eyes and walk off, leaving Dorian to shake his head in confusion before he returned to eating his breakfast in peace.

It wasn't until he had finished that he noticed that Kai's white tie was still sprawled on the table.

 

~`*`~

 

Half an hour later found Dorian at the Jubilife Pokémon Academy, hunting down his family members with the white tie folded carefully in the pocket of his pea coat.

He had forgotten how big and convoluted the inside of the school had gotten since his absence. Having only been outside its walls for the past eight years, Dorian was having trouble recalling the direction of the miniature auditorium, or where "Gardevoir Hall" was in relation to the south entrance. _Or was it the north gate?_

Eventually he found the right room, thanks to a couple of staff members. They were also heading in that direction and offered to escort him once he told them who he was. The disgruntled teen now found himself standing inconspicuously against the rough brick wall of the tiny amphitheater, carefully adjusting his glasses as he scoped the room for his little brother. No doubt Kai realized he was missing his tie by now.

The room was crowded with proud family members lining the aisles, and rows of rambunctious classmates shuffled in their seats as they quietly twittered to each other about what Pokémon they suspected would be revealed after the ceremony. Each graduation, the newly qualified trainers would receive their desired partner in front of the attending audience before partaking in a small one-on-one tournament with their fellow graduates. No one was allowed to know which trainer chose what Pokémon until that moment, which was no small amount of concern for Dorian.

A tug on his jacket sleeve alerted him to his mother’s presence at his side. He gave a small sigh in relief. _But now where was...?_

“Over in the corner, second row on the right,” the dark-haired woman whispered in his ear, having to stand on her toes to reach. Steel grey eyes followed her direction, and couldn’t help but furrow at the sight they found.

There was his brother, dressed in his Academy uniform and fidgeting low in his seat. Trembling hands were running roughly through his hair that once again was a mess, if it hadn't already been before. Coupled with his rumpled crimson button-up becoming untucked from his slacks once more, and round-rimmed glasses sliding crooked and low on his nose, Kai looked the definition of a nervous wreck.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Dorian muttered lowly, gauging the scrawny ten-year old boy critically from the shadows.

“Nonsense,” his mom hushed. She brought a camera up to her eye, and flashed a couple pictures before lowering it again. Dorian made a move to approach Kai, but Suzu quickly held him back. “It’s just stage jitters. He’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“I have his tie!”

“He'll live without it.”

“What if we just—” but Dorian was shushed again and, as if waiting for that particular cue, the lights dimmed and a single figure stepped up to the podium stationed at the front of the room.

Illuminated by the stage lights, the older gentleman struck an impressive sight in his brown collared trench coat and gruff expression. There was something almost wild about his appearance, the gleaming starchiness of his silver hair framing his mustached face like a lion’s mane. Piercing dark eyes hunted the room beneath his prominent bushy brow. His brown leather briefcase he placed onto the table next to him, the bulk of its contents making the surface tremor slightly from the weight. The man took a quick moment to release the latches, allowing the lid to spring open and reveal the contents within. Even from Dorian’s position, it was easy to see the four gleaming red and white Pokeballs resting snugly in dark foam slots, but the line of sight was broken when the older man took to the podium again.

“Good afternoon everyone,” he started evenly, his baritone voice carrying across the room without the help of the microphone. Immediately, all side chatter fell silent and the room grew still. “And thank you for your attendance. My name is Professor Rowan, and today, we will be celebrating the success of four of our fine students here at the Jubilife Pokémon Academy. As you all may be familiar with by now, we will be presenting our Academy graduates with their chosen Pokémon partner, and will pair them off with one another for a ceremonial Trainer battle following the bestowment. The purpose of this contest is not to grant awards or punishments – it is merely an opportunity for the trainers to test their strength before departing on their journey.

“As we are under a time limit, I ask that any applause be kept until the end of the presentations in order to move through our list and on to the Tournament. Now, for our graduates.”

At this point, the professor cleared this throat and peered down at the list on the stand in front of him. “Reading from the end of the alphabet onward, the first on our list is…Graham Orenson. Graham, please approach the podium to receive your partner.”

Graham, a young boy with dark skin and dark curly hair shaved into a mohawk, emerged from the shadows in the back of the room, a look of absolute delight on his face. Also dressed in his Academy uniform, he appeared far older and more put together than Dorian’s younger brother, with his bright white slacks lint-free and the red shirt beneath freshly pressed. Dorian watched as the boy adjusted his tie and buttoned his blazer closed before making his approach. He could vaguely remember rumors of the kid that had circuited the city’s inhabitants, how he’d come from Johto to live with his extended family, how he’d registered late with the Academy so no one really knew him that well, how he’d decided to hang around and continue his studies long after his tenth birthday passed which resulted in him being the oldest graduating student in recent Jubilife history. Though Dorian couldn’t say how old the boy was now, it was almost certain that Graham profited from the extra time.

The mohawked student strode confidently towards the podium, hands already reaching for the Pokeball held in Professor Rowan’s palm.

“Congratulations on the completion of your time at Jubilife Pokémon Academy,” said the professor while shaking Graham’s hand. “Please take your place beside me as we continue. Next on our list…”

Dorian barely focused on the rest of the proceedings, too worried as he was about his younger brother. The next two graduates were two girls, one looking rather young, and the other perhaps in her early teens, both also looking well-kempt in their Academy outfits and excited at receiving their Pokémon. But as the third graduate took her place beside her peers at the front of the room, Dorian noted his brother’s dark hair getting more mussed, the uniform further disheveled…

“Last on our list, we have Kaiten Calder. Please approach the podium to receive your partner.”

At the sound of his name, Kai nearly fell out of his seat, causing the room to break out into quiet laughter. Anxiously, Dorian bit his lip as the younger boy tried in vain to shrug back into his black blazer and straighten his hair during the slow walk to the professor. The white-haired man waited patiently, Pokeball in hand. When proffered it, Kai clamped both hands around the sphere, face pale in the bright light.

Prof. Rowan cleared his throat and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you this month’s newest Pokémon Trainers.”

The room erupted into applause with Dorian warily clapping along, but the feeling of unease didn’t settle.

 

~`*`~

 

The rest of the ceremony was to take place in the courtyard of the school, as announced by one of the Academy officials once the professor relinquished the podium. The pairings would be declared once the contestants and the audience had assembled properly around the designated battle arena.

His mother was quick to exit, wanting to secure the best vantage point for pictures of her youngest son, but Dorian hesitated to join the jostling crowd, eyes still seeking out Kai. He’d looked so small up there. Peering as best he could over the dozens of heads streaming out the doors, the dark-haired teen tried to spot the one belonging to his little brother as bodies knocked into him in waves.

Too late, the bespectacled teen saw the four graduates being escorted out another exit on the opposite side of the room.

“Kai!” Dorian called, hoping to catch someone’s attention. Perhaps in an unconscious gesture, Dorian saw Kai glance aimlessly over his shoulder before the Academy administrator gently guided him from behind through the door. It slammed solidly behind the two. “Damn it,” the older boy cursed under his breath, and put his hand in the pocket to feel the silken fabric of Kai's tie. Frustrated, he turned to find that most of the room had emptied, and that he was one of the few left inside. With one last look in the direction Kai had gone, Dorian followed the remnants of the crowd and hurried out the exit.

The sunlight and fresh air were a shock after the stale heat and artificial lighting of the Academy building. It was a chilled February afternoon, though warmer than it had been the past couple weeks, which was a good sign for the new trainers starting out on their journeys. The ceremony had taken a good portion of the day, however, and the sun was just beginning to set behind the city high skyline. Dorian shrugged a little deeper into his black wool coat and rubbed his bare hands together for warmth as he weaved through the remaining bodies filing behind the building in the direction of the courtyard, hoping his mother was able to get a good view of the field.

Though the Academy was settled deep in the middle of Jubilife City and heavily surrounded by red-brick buildings and steel pavement, there was a small grassy area that was reserved for outdoor activities nestled just south of the city’s central square. With the pending tournament, the field appeared even smaller with the growing audience that packed itself around its border. In the center, there was a mini-stage, upon which it seemed an Academy official stood to announce the pairings over a megaphone. As Dorian joined the numerous crowds, he caught only the last hints of the official’s voice, and realized he’d arrived just in time to miss the broadcast of the pairings, much to his disgruntlement.

It didn’t matter though. He changed tactics, scanning the battle arenas for his mother. She had a tendency to be front and center for these kinds of things.

_There!_ By the water fountain. Clutching her camera and looking far too thrilled to be there. Grumbling to himself, Dorian started jogging the field border to meet her, dodging between random spectators. Just in time, it seemed, as the boundaries were starting to solidify, and the combatants were taking their places.

Through the shoulders and over the heads of the audience, Dorian managed to make out Kai on one end of the battlefield. His opponent he couldn’t discern as clearly without accidentally running into anyone, but judging from glimpses of the person’s height and build… Dorian reached the fountain and, with the open field in front of him, the dread in his stomach became a solid block.

Kai was paired up against Graham.

It was clear once the two were facing off that Graham had a good few years on the pale-faced boy. Eyeing each other down from opposite sides of the field, it couldn’t be more obvious how different the two of them were from one another. Compared to the confident, solid poise of the older boy, Kai seemed a shrunken and frail child. Dorian couldn’t contain a grimace.

_Nothing to be done about it now._

The ref stepped onto the midline, flag in hand, ready to announce the battle.

“On the left, Kai Calder. On the right, Graham Orenson. This will be a one-on-one battle. Challengers ready! Begin!” The flag dropped, and the crowd began to cheer.

“Go! Slipstream!” Graham shouted, tossing the Pokeball with a flick of his wrist.

“Go Taro!” Kai cried, but instead of throwing the ball, it slipped out of his hands and dropped to the ground at his feet.

Both balls exploded open, the bright lights blinding the spectators momentarily before anyone could make out the forms of the newly acquired Pokémon. Finally, the shine dimmed, and the combatants were revealed.

On Graham’s end of the field was a young bird – a Pidgey, if Dorian remembered correctly. It flapped its wings experimentally before landing again, puffing out its cream-colored plumage while critically eying its opponent.

Coming up to Kai’s knees was a small green turtle-like Pokémon, the name of which Dorian didn’t recall immediately, though he recognized the creature from posters in Kai’s room. The tiny leafed sprout at the peak of its skull swayed in the breeze as it looked about with its bulbous head. “Taro” didn’t seem too interested in Graham’s Slipstream. It stared blankly across the arena at the little bird before steering its gaze to Kai. “Turt!” it grunted happily, turning to face him fully.

“Not now, Taro!” Dorian heard his brother keen. He was clutching the Pokeball to his chest with one hand and pointing with the other. “Go Tackle that Pidgey!”

Graham, compared to Kai, was all conviction. He gestured with a self-assured wave of his arm. “Slipstream, Quick Attack!”

The two Pokémon obediently charged each other, the Pidgey advancing far faster than Taro’s stumbling run. With pinpoint precision, the bird Pokémon lowered its wing and slammed into the turtle’s side, causing it to lose balance. Dorian watched wide-eyed as it toppled with enough momentum to roll back on its feet, but the attack obviously rattled Taro to the point where retaliation wasn’t immediately at hand.

“Great job, Slip!” Graham cheered fiercely with a fist pump. “Go at it with another Quick Attack!”

“Taro!” Kai shouted, brow wrinkled with concern. “Withdraw!”

Taro grunted in response, and pulled all limbs and its head into the shell just as the Pidgey rapidly approached once more. The two collided, and Taro was spent spinning in circles, the sandy ground doing nothing to slow it down.

“Keep on the attack!” commanded Graham.

Kai bit his lip and adjusted his glasses. “Continue to Withdraw and wait for an opening, Taro!”

Though the little turtle obeyed without hesitation, it was quickly apparent that, while the attacks were becoming less and less effective, Taro’s health was not in good standing. Its face and shell were covered in beak and claw marks, and its legs were quaking so badly it was a miracle the Pokémon was still standing. Dorian’s breath caught in his throat has he watched on, wondering what his brother could possibly be thinking, his mind concocting all sorts of horror fantasies of what would happen to him out on his journey, Kai was just not ready for this, absolutely not—

“I’m using a potion!” Kai cried out suddenly, and pulled from his jacket pocket a small blue squirt bottle. He barely waited for the judge to call a halt to the battle before rushing onto the field to administer it to his weakened Pokémon. It took all Dorian had in him to refrain from yelling at his brother to be careful, instead settling for a frustrated slap to his own forehead.

Within seconds, Taro’s health took an immediate turn for the better, glowing with new energy. “Turt!” the Pokémon grunted with more strength, holding its head high as it regarded the airborne opponent. Dorian breathed a small sigh of relief, but the agitation in his eyes refused to leave.

“Resume battle!” the referee called, gesturing with his flags once Kai was back off the field.

The look on Graham’s face was less joyous than before, a grim scowl on his face replacing the victorious grin that once pulled at his lips. “We’ll try something else,” he commanded to the Pidgey. “Give it a Sand Attack!”

The little bird dove in Taro's direction, but dipped early towards the ground in order to swing its taloned feet forward and sweep sand into its opponent's face with a flap of its wings. With Kai's cry to look out, Taro immediately pulled its head in from the attack, eyes closed in protection. Dust clouds rose, grains of dirt settling on its shell and leaf.

“Again!” Graham shouted as the Pidgey swung around for a second go.

“Just keep waiting for an opening, Taro!” ordered Kai with more confidence than before.

The Pidgey took a dive, the sand hit again, and the turtle Pokémon took a moment to shake it off and blink around blearily through the powdered texture in the air. Its eyesight was compromised.

“Good,” the mohawked boy announced with a smirk, and Dorian felt his stomach knot. “Now back to a Quick Attack!”

The bird rushed forward, aiming to hit Taro hard and fast, but with the higher defense due to Withdraw, the attack merely glanced off of its shell. “Now!” Kai screamed. “To the left! Tackle!”

“Turt! Wig!” Taro croaked out and pivoted, slamming itself into the bird as it flew past. The Pidgey couldn’t dodge, and even with the precaution of previous Sand Attacks, it was too close to the turtle for Taro to miss. It took the full hit and spun off to the side, completely out of control.

Graham shouted, “Slipstream, no!”

“Follow up with another Tackle attack!” the dark-haired boy called again, but the turtle was already moving to carry out the order, moving much faster than it had in the beginning. Granules of dirt flew off its body as it rocketed forward, but Taro's eyesight seemed clear. Its hard shell made first contact full into the little bird’s side, and Slipstream met the ground with a resounding thud. After a second where it attempted to regain its footing, the Pokémon staggered, groaned, then fainted.

“The battle is over. Kai is the winner!”

The crowd broke out into cheers as Kai whooped and leapt into the air before rushing forward to celebrate with his equally-ecstatic Pokémon. Off to the side, a stoic and resigned Graham recalled the defeated Pidgey before making his way to Kai for the customary post-battle handshake.

“Kai did it!” Suzu shouted proudly from beside Dorian, even grabbing his arm in her excitement and giving it a gleeful shake, but the older boy found himself unresponsive to the celebrations. The dark-haired teen clapped along with the spectators, though less enthusiastic and far more troubled. A fierce heat was building in his chest and it had nothing to do with the weather.

Noticing the furrowed look on his face, Suzu gentled her grip and peered at him with those same imploring eyes from that morning. “Not now, honey. Let him have—”

But Dorian yanked his arm away and stalked off before she could finish, disappearing into the jostling bodies of people either swarming the field or heading home. He wouldn't confront his little brother about that stunt right now. Kai wouldn't be able to hear him over the cheers, let alone actually listen. Still, the older brother steamed quietly and unrecognized in a pocket recess in the crowd, watching as his mother gave up looking for him and joined Kai in order to properly congratulate him.

She shouldn't have been congratulating him, though, Dorian thought. How reckless could his little brother get? Is that how he was going to be, now that he was a trainer? Thoughtlessly engaging in battles that only blind dumb luck would allow him to win? _Stupid, really._

It took time for the audience to fully dissipate, but by that time Dorian was feeling more in control of his emotions. The anger – and yes, it was anger – hadn't completely gone away, still solid and hot beneath his shirt collar, but it had stilled, no longer growing and flickering in a way that had Dorian fidgeting. He could handle it now, gauge its size and stability, and manipulate it into something constructive rather than explosive; something that could be understood.

He needed his brother to understand.

The steps he began to take towards his mother and brother were calm, measured, controlled. Dorian began imaging what he would say, how he would say it, and how his brother would respond. It would make sense. Kai would recognize the logic behind it, and agree.

_Right?_

Suddenly, Dorian looked up and realized that he wasn’t just walking towards his family anymore. Standing next to them was Professor Rowan – powerful, imposing, and absolutely someone before whom Dorian could not make a scene.

“Kaiten! Excellent battle today, my boy, very well done.” The older man clapped a firm hand on Kai's narrow shoulder, causing the boy to buckle slightly from the strength. Yet he stood proudly, looking up at his mentor's face with a beaming smile.

Inside Dorian's chest, the flickering heat was back, liquid and volatile.

“Thank you Professor!” the boy chirped happily. “Gotta say, that type disadvantage had me thrown, but I had full confidence in Taro from the get-go. Thank you for giving him to me, it means a lot.” His hand flew to his trainer belt, where the shrunken Pokeball was clasped comfortably at his hip.

Prof. Rowan's eye crinkled. “Of course, you two were getting along so well, it only seemed fair. Will I still be seeing you tomorrow at my lab?”

“Yes sir! Bright and early.”

“Very good.” He turned and saw Dorian standing silently nearby. “Dorian, is that you? My word, it has been a while, hasn't it.”

“Professor,” he muttered with a small bow. He didn't want to be rude, but it was difficult to engage in conversation at the moment.

The professor seemed to pick up on this. He cleared his throat and turned back to Dorian's mother and brother. “Well, as much as I'd like to stay and continue catching up, I must be going. My research awaits, and I still need to speak to Graham over there before he heads off. Dorian, Mrs. Calder, a pleasure. Kaiten, I'll be seeing you at the Jubilife Center tomorrow morning. Good day.”

“Bye, Professor!” Kai called, his mother echoing the sentiment. Once he was out of earshot, Kai turned back to his older brother, that egotistical smile still in place. “Well?” he goaded energetically. “What'd you think of the match? Pretty good, huh? Told you I wasn't inexperienced in handling Pokémon!”

“Dorian, remember what I told you,” Suzu interfered sternly before he could even open his mouth.

But all the dark-haired teen could do was look down at his younger brother as he stood before him. In Dorian’s eyes, the boy was remarkably scrawny for his age, all lanky limbs and short stature. He barely came up to Dorian’s shoulders, and seemed to have trouble filling out his clothes, despite having them tailored to his figure as all the school uniforms were. That cocky smirk, those crooked wide-lensed glasses, that messy mop of hair that desperately needed a haircut – it was all childish. His brother was childish.

_He’s still a child._

“That match was a mess,” he said finally, flat and serious.

“Dorian!” his mother scolded. Kai's face slowly began to fall, but Dorian couldn't focus on that now. The fire in his belly began to bloom outward, losing form and function. There was a buzzing in his ears that made it hard to hear his voice in his own head, let alone anything else.

“You let your Pokémon bear the brunt of those physical attacks until it was just about to faint,” he began listing off with his fingers, “then you rush out onto the field without giving the ref enough of a heads up to halt the battle to heal it? Then you go back to the same tactic! How was that supposed to prove that you're an experienced Pokémon trainer? What were you thinking?”

“What?” Kai whispered, seeming to shrink into himself.

“What were you thinking?!” Dorian repeated with a scowl, waving his arms wildly in the air from anger. “Do you know how dangerous that was, the stunt you pulled out there? What were you _thinking?_ ”

“I had a potion!” Kai tried to argue, but his plea sounded thin to his ears. “I had everything under control, I had a potion—”

“And if you didn’t?” Dorian questioned with a voice stronger and resonating. “What then? If this was an actual battle, your Pokémon would have been beaten and then you’d have nothing to protect you. You’re obviously not ready!”

“Dorian, enough—” his mother tried to interject, but Kai yelled over her.

“I am too ready!” The rejoinder came out more sulky than intended, and Dorian seemed to age from Kai’s show of immaturity. “Just listen to me for once!”

“I’m going to go have a talk with the Professor about your journey. Perhaps the summer would be a better time. It’s just too soon.”

“No! Stop! You can’t!” Kai's arms shot forward, grabbing at the sleeve of Dorian’s jacket with flailing fists.

“I can and I will!” Dorian yelled down at his younger brother, easily shaking away his grip. “Plenty of trainers waited past their tenth birthday before starting their journey. Just look at that guy Graham! This is for your own good; I don’t want you getting yourself killed out there!”

But Kai wouldn’t have it. The smaller boy was red in the face, his whole frame trembling as he stood stock stiff and clenching his hands. “No, you’re just doing it because you don’t want me to succeed where you failed. You always do this! You’re not my dad, so stop acting like you are!” With that last outburst, the boy took off, shoving past his older brother and booking it out of the field.

Dorian’s face blanched, “What?! That’s – hey, come back here!”

But by the time he regained his wits about him, Kai was already down the street towards home. Dorian watched him go, hurt and guilt burning in his chest. He turned back and glared down at the ground, feeling the heat welling up behind his glasses and causing his throat to tighten.

A hand on his upper arm quelled the fires, but the look in his mother’s eyes made his own blur with watery guilt. After taking a deep breath, however, even that was stymied. His brow relaxed, eyes closed, shoulders sank.

“I know,” Dorian muttered, thankful his voice at least was level. He turned away with a glower shadowed by his dark bangs. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“Let’s go back to the house,” she responded simply.

Maybe he was out of line. He’d give them the night, and he’d try to apologize tomorrow. Maybe things would look better in the morning light.     

 

~`*`~

 

Dorian wouldn’t admit he was procrastinating, but he was certainly taking his time.

After returning home yesterday, the older boy had reneged on his earlier plan and made a beeline for Kai’s bedroom. He had fully intended to apologize right then and there – had even stood eying the boy’s bedroom door… but then immediately lost his nerve, masked by a lingering bravado that balked at the idea of admitting to his younger brother that he was wrong. Returning to his own bedroom, the need to apologize and the desire to stay right flared up in turn. By the time dinner came around, Dorian was still warring with himself. Kai refused to join them at the table, so Suzu personally brought his plate up to him, which only served to infuriate Dorian even further.

Needless to say, Dorian had trouble finding sleep that night, and was up well before morning officially broke. He had finally decided he would make the first move and apologize appropriately, but couldn’t seem to actually make himself do it.

Which is why he was still standing outside of Kai's bedroom door in his sleepwear when his mother appeared by his side, carrying a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of juice in each hand.

She eyed Dorian critically for a few beats, before abruptly handing him the dishes. The dark-haired teen accepted them by reflex mostly, and before he could even begin to process why he was the one holding them now, Suzu had knocked three times sharply on the solid oak door, and swiftly walked back towards the staircase.

“Hey!” Dorian yelled after her, anxious and indignant.

“Talk to your brother!” she called over her shoulder, not missing a beat.

The older boy frowned down at the food in his hands, but sighed in acceptance. At least he could blame his mother this way.

However, after waiting a few moments for any sound of movement inside the room, Dorian grew concerned. He bent low to place the glass of orange juice by his bare feet, and used his free hand to knock again. “Kai?” he spoke against the door, brow furrowed.

No answer.

Impatient, the bespectacled teen tried the door handle. It swung open easily, and Dorian peered through the doorjamb, taking in the neatly made bed, the partly touched tray of food from last night's dinner on Kai's desk, a few scattered pieces of clothing on the floor. Across the way, the window to Kai's bedroom was wide open, curtains flapping in the chilly post-winter breeze. But there was no Kai.

“Kai?” Dorian tried one more time, stepping into the room in case the younger boy was hidden from sight, perhaps even in the adjoining bathroom. The boy was nowhere to be found.

Dorian rushed out of the room, shouting for his mother. He found her back in the kitchen, calmly sipping a cup of morning tea.

“Well?” she looked up expectantly, though her expression turned serious when she noted the look of panic on his face.

“He's gone.”

“What do you mean he’s—?”

“I mean he's gone,” he rushed out, scowling with impatience. Dorian then stalked in the direction of the kitchen’s video phone installed into one of the walls. “His room is empty. I need to call the Professor.”

Suzu vacated her seat and rushed to his side as he scrolled through the various contacts on the touchscreen. “Why?”

“They were going to meet this morning, remember?” he glanced over his shoulder at her once he found the professor’s number. One hand jerked the earpiece from the slot on the side of the wall, while the other hand’s finger jabbed the screen forcefully. “They said so yesterday after the ceremony.”

It began to ring, and the dark-haired teen held the phone to his ear and tried to control his anxiety. Three trills in and Dorian was starting to lose hope, until the fourth ring was interrupted and the older man’s face filled up the screen.

A gruff voice cut over the line. “Hello, this is Professor Rowan’s lab. Might I ask who is calling?” The professor seemed to be a bit distracted; his eyes not even looking at the screen as he busily scribbled something down on a sketchpad outside of the camera’s view.

“Professor Rowan? This is Dorian Calder, Kai’s older brother?” A flash of embarrassment hit him when he realized that he wasn’t exactly dressed for socializing. Flannel sleepwear hardly qualified for a conversation with a notable researcher. Trying not to let it bother him, he pushed on, carefully eyed the man on the monitor for any sign of recognition on the other man’s downturned face. “He graduated from the Academy yesterday?”

The professor’s head popped up immediately. “Ah, Dorian! Yes, of course I remember. Kai! Very impressive battle, wasn’t it? Against an opponent who had an advantage against him, very well done. What can I do for you, Dorian?”

Caught off-guard at suddenly having the man’s full attention, Dorian found himself a bit at a loss for words. “Oh…yes, well… sir, I was wondering if he had stopped by at all to pick up his Pokedex yet. He must’ve left early this morning for his journey, we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

“Hmm…no, I still have it.” Professor Rowan’s eyes were fixed elsewhere in the lab, probably where he kept the devices. “We had plans to meet in Jubilife, yes, but I'm afraid he didn’t show before I had to return. Very strange. Did something happen?” He turned back and pinned Dorian with an inscrutable gaze.

Dorian swallowed thickly, ignoring his mother’s pointed look. “…No, sir. I think he was just excited to get started.” An idea came to him and before he could think it through, the teen blurted, “May I come by and pick it up for him? I’ll just deliver it, so that you won’t have to try to find him. I’m aware you’re a very busy man.”

His mother gasped audibly at that, and it was Dorian’s turn to give her a stern glare before turning back to the monitor. On the screen, Professor Rowan hummed in thought, stroking his mustache contemplatively. “Well, it would certainly give me one less thing to do. Yes, that sounds fine to me. My assistant is still in town, he should be able to give you a ride to my lab. Be quick about it, though, I’m expecting him back rather soon.”

The teen heaved a sigh of relief.

“Perfect. Thank you, sir. I’ll be seeing you shortly.”

 

~`*`~

 

After getting changed into nicer – and warmer – clothes, Dorian threw on his coat and rushed out to the main part of Jubilife City. Surprisingly it didn’t take long to track down the assistant Professor Rowan mentioned, given how few people seemed to be up and about that early in the morning. The older man, dressed in the standard white lab coat, was puttering outside the local Poke Mart, fussing with his baggage and loading up an ordinary colorless pick-up truck with the last of his supplies.

Dorian caught up with him just as the man was haphazardly tossing his satchel into the front passenger seat. Reservedly, the dark-haired teen coughed into his fist while giving the assistant a peripheral glance.

“Eh?” he turned at the sound, then straightened in surprise. “Oh! Are you Dorian?”

Dorian blinked and adjusted his glasses. “Yes. You were expecting me?”

“The professor told me to keep an eye out for you,” the assistant replied with a kind chuckle. “My name is Jude. I’m to take you to his lab in Sandgem, is that correct? I should warn you, it’s a bit of a drive, about a couple hours.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Dorian differed coolly. “A ride would be greatly appreciated.”

The assistant just offered a light grin and gestured to the open door of the truck beside him. “Then hop on in. We should arrive right before noon.”

It was a quiet ride, despite Jude’s attempt at small talk. Dorian answered all his questions politely, but the responses were short, body language pointedly turned away towards the truck windows, and the bespectacled teen refused to ask anything beyond how far they had left to go. When they finally pulled into town, the sun was shining strongly just above the top of the nearby forest, reflecting off the various windows and casting the minimal housing in an almost ethereal glow. The lab hardly stood out from the other buildings, belying its grandeur with a modest wooden design and a blue roof that barely contrasted with the cloudless sky. To the uneducated eye, it could easily pass as a peaceful getaway home.

Dorian was led to the door by the assistant, and guardedly followed him inside. To his surprise (and mild annoyance) the professor wasn’t anywhere in sight. He also wasn't looking at anything that remotely resembled a lab. A nicely furnished house, certainly, but not a lab. A small sitting area with a couch and coffee table was located to his left, and on his right was a long stretching hallway with multiple doors along the length. Straight ahead beyond the foyer was a dining area alongside a modest kitchen, with another corridor branching off farther ahead to the right.

“You’ll have to head down towards the lab in order to find the professor,” Jude directed with an apologetic smile. “He probably mentioned to you in his conversation, but he’s in the middle of a project and couldn’t wait to get back to work on it.”

“I understand,” Dorian muttered in a halfhearted attempt at courtesy. “I’ll find my way. Thank you for bringing me here, I hope it wasn’t any trouble.”

Adjusting the satchel on his shoulder, the assistant shook his head. “None at all. Good luck!”

And with that, the man shuffled off down the adjacent hallway, already busying himself with the contents of his bag.

The dark-haired teen turned back and observed the layout ahead of him. If he wasn't being led down the direction the assistant went, odds were that the lab was through that other corridor. He hesitated, and for a second absurdly worried about whether he was supposed to take off his loafers. The assistant hadn't told him to. That must mean he was in the clear?

Dorian shook his head of those nonsensical thoughts. He was here for a reason, he needed to focus. The teen purposefully tugged the wrinkles out of his storm-grey dress shirt then smoothed his hands along the fabric of the black sweater he wore over it.

And onward he went.

Turning right once he reached the kitchen, Dorian fully expected another hallway identical to the one by the front door. Instead, a sliding glass door blocked the recess of the wall. Beyond the doors, there were metal flooring and railings wrapped around the perimeter of the lab, with a set of stairs right at the entrance of the door heading downward. The roof was made out of skylight, and even a few windows were on the south end where a walkout patio was installed. The bespectacled teen paused again, taking in the sight. This was where his brother spent all of his time.

Before he could make another move, the automatic doors whooshed open letting out a vacuum of air that smelled stale and surprisingly of paper. Dorian frowned in confusion, but it immediately cleared when he recognized the figure ascending the laboratory staircase.

It was Graham.

The younger boy looked much different out of his Academy uniform. Not necessarily worse, as his manner of casual dress was as immaculate as his school clothes, but...still. The mohawked trainer wore a pink striped collarless shirt with short sleeves unbuttoned over a faded red undershirt, sporty khaki shorts, and brown-strapped sandals. How he wasn’t cold was a mystery to Dorian. A pair of brown aviators rested on his head, and around his neck he wore a thin white neckerchief, making him look as if he just stepped off the cover of Trainer Weekly.

Graham also wasn't as tall as he had looked from a distance, standing near Dorian's brother. He was about half a head shorter than Dorian, which had to mean that, while he was older than Kai, it wasn’t by much.

Dorian watched him approach, feeling his discomfort rise. With the narrow hallway, and him barring the only exit, there was no way to avoid a conversation. It didn't take long for the young trainer to look up from the steps he climbed to pin the older teen with his serious brown eyes before they widened in surprise.

"Hello," Dorian greeted, for lack of anything better to say, and gave a lame wave of his hand.

"...Hey," Graham responded slowly as he gradually came to a halt. He continued to eye the other teen, though now with blatant curiosity.

Awkwardly, the bespectacled teen coughed. "You're… the one who went against my brother yesterday, right?" he offered in an attempt to prompt some kind of reaction other than silence.

Finally Graham blinked. “Oh, Kai? Yes, that was me. You're his brother?”

"My name is Dorian,” he introduced, mechanically stepping forward to offer his hand. “It was a, uh, tough match. I'm… sorry for the loss."

The darker boy accepted the handshake while shrugging with one shoulder. “No big. Your brother's a strong trainer."

"He seems to think so." Graham was back to staring, head cocked slightly to the side in observation. Dorian again cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'm looking for the professor, actually. Would you happen to know if...?" he trailed off and nodded at the lab behind Graham.

"Oh, yeah," the mohawked boy affirmed with a quick rub to the back of his head. "He's just down the stairs. He was talking about having to leave after he met with someone else. I assume he meant you?"

"Right, well, I'm here," Dorian confirmed with a smile that left as quick as it came.

"Right," Graham echoed. There was a brief pause before the other boy exhaled and rushed out, "Well, good luck."

And he slid sideways past Dorian and continued on his way.

The weirdness of the conversation again had Dorian distracted from his objective. He used a couple seconds to process, before quickly brushing the interaction off. After stealing a steadying breath of air, the teen descended the stairs.

 

~`*`~

 

The lab probably would have been more impressive to Dorian if he had any idea what any of the machines and lights even meant. As it were, it just made for a very cluttered and shiny workspace that had him worrying that the slightest misstep would have him breaking something very important, or expensive, or both. So he took the stairs down very carefully, eyeing the bustling bodies below as they all seemed to scurry around from one end of the room to the other. In the middle of it all was the figure of Professor Rowan, pointing and calling instructions to his numerous assistants while he shuffled his own paperwork across one of the metallic countertops that may have been his desk. An open briefcase rested by his side, and on a separate table rested a larger suitcase already filled with what appeared to be various field items.

“Do please remember to download those articles on Arceus, my good man,” Professor Rowan told a passing subordinate without looking up from the documents in his hands. “It wouldn’t do to leave without them.”

“Yesssir.”

Another aide came from the opposite direction, and again Professor Rowan commanded, “If you wouldn’t mind sending an email to Professor Oak about last night’s discoveries as soon as you have a moment, my dear, I would appreciate it. He should be kept up-to-date in case any further progress is made.”

“Yesssir.”

Dorian hesitantly edged closer, not sure whether or not to interrupt whatever flow may be occurring. He hadn’t forgotten that the Professor had plans to leave soon, nor that those plans seemed to be very time-sensitive, but he also couldn’t afford to wait much longer himself. The sooner he could be on his way, the sooner he may be able to catch up to Kai. To make things better. To make things right.

He sucked in a lungful of air. “Professor—”

“My boy, come closer, and bring along that microscope with you.”

Dorian blinked. “Pardon?”

Professor Rowan looked up, finally storing his selected documents into his briefcase and gave him a pointed look. “That microscope. By your forearm. If you please?”

“Oh!” The teen glanced down as prompted and hastily grabbed the indicated device awkwardly by its heavy base. “Of course, here.” He slid it across the table closer to the older man, who bent down to pull out its carrying case from the cabinets below. Professor Rowan then went about putting the microscope inside, taking off assorted pieces and cleaning others without giving Dorian another glance.

The dark-haired teen wasn’t quite sure how to proceed, but gave it a try regardless. “So…you really are leaving soon?” A stupid question, but oh well.

"Yes, for Canalave,” the researcher responded regardless of the intelligence of the query. “Something has come up and I'm afraid I need to leave sooner than I originally intended. After that, it's straight on towards Eterna City, and then who knows? I'm sorry our meeting has to be so rushed.” He snapped the carrying case closed, gripped the handle then fixed Dorian with that fierce stare. “Come on over this way.”

They left the table behind and weaved between moving staff and immobile machinery, finally making it to one particularly round station that was out of the way. It had a complicated dome hanging overhead, with protruding pipes that aligned with the small uniform craters that circled the rim of the pedestal. Beside it, a computer monitor and a keyboard connected to the base of the station, which Professor Rowan stepped to and started typing on without hesitation.

After a moment of confused staring, the dome started humming, rising in pitch as the energy within seemed to build. Dorian watched on with wide eyes as suddenly a bright flash of light erupted from one of the overhanging pipes, shooting down into its corresponding basin below. He immediately turned away to protect his eyes, but the process took all of a few seconds. When the light finally faded, a plain red and white Pokeball now filled the pedestal’s depression.

“There we are,” Professor Rowan said aloud, though whether for Dorian’s benefit or his own, the teen couldn’t tell. Still, the older man leaned over and plucked the ball from its nook, then walked to the nearest table with a clear surface.

He then beckoned to Dorian, and told him meaningfully, “Pay attention now.”

The ball snapped open and released its contents with another burst of light, catching Dorian unawares again and blinding him. Spots danced with every blink of his eyelids, but even so the light dissipated quickly. Dorian’s mind spun as he focused on the sight before him.

The creature was a blue penguin. There was no question about it. Small, round, and rather squat-looking, the Pokémon stared up at them with equally round black eyes. Kai had a poster of this one as well, but Dorian hadn’t spent a lot of time observing it. Now it was standing in front of him, looking completely indifferent to the current situation.

"Meet Piplup, your partner for the journey," Professor Rowan announced, obviously pleased.

Dorian whipped his head to the side and stared at the older man’s profile.

"What?"

_This wasn’t part of the plan._

Sure, his mom had tried to convince him to use a service to deliver the Pokedex to a Pokémon Center further along the Badge circuit. Dorian had said no because he wanted to give it to him in person. _Apologize_ in person.

Just, not this way.

He was panicking. The penguin seemed similarly stunned, staring at the professor with equal shock.

Professor Rowan turned and met his gaze with a half-frown. "I can't very well send you after your brother without some protection, can I? Don't worry, you can return Piplup after you've given Kai his Pokedex."

The teen gaped, his gaze now riveted to the stoic Pokémon on the table. "But sir—"

The man had moved on, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue handheld device. "And here's the Pokedex. I'm glad that Kai will be getting this shortly. I thought I'd only be handing out one this graduation."

"I… One, sir?" Dorian asked robotically, taking the Pokedex while still eyeing the Pokémon with trepidation. His mind was having trouble wrapping itself around recent events, so he was now operating on auto-pilot. Piplup had closed its eyes, flippers folded awkwardly over its chest.

The older man nodded, walking to the other side of the table to inspect another piece of machinery as if deciding whether or not he needed it for his trip. "Yes. You remember Graham Orenson from the ceremony yesterday, correct? The one who battled Kai? Very gifted, very tactical. A good match with Kai's ingenuity and perseverance."

_More like stupidity and bullheadedness._ Dorian kept the thought to himself. Piplup chirped, which made the teen jump.

Meanwhile, Professor Rowan hummed at the tool in his hand, placed it back down with a shake of his head, then walked back to Dorian with an expectant look on his face.

The teen inhaled deeply, and pointedly looked away from the Pokémon currently sitting silently at the table, as if it were listening in on the conversation. "Sir, I don't need a Pokémon for this." He tried to sound firm, and was pleased when his voice barely shook. He hated talking back to people of high authority.

But the professor waved the comment away like it was nothing. "Nonsense. Who knows where Kai has gotten to by now? You have no means of contacting him, and jumping around from city to city would just confuse the issue. You're better off following his footsteps, and you’d be safer with a companion.” The dark-haired boy opened his mouth to interject, but the older man plowed right over him. “Listen, Dorian. I remember you from when you were young and in your Academy days. You were quite skilled yourself, almost as much as Kai."

Dorian stared at him, quite taken aback. Piplup chirped again.

_Kai? Skilled?_

During his stunned silence, the professor picked up the Pokeball and returned Piplup without preamble. Once done, he grabbed the teen’s hand by the wrist, and pressed the ball into Dorian’s sweaty palm. The metallic sphere was cool against the heat of his skin, causing goosebumps to erupt up the length of his arm.

"You've got potential.” Rowan continued steadily. “Normally I wouldn't blindly trust someone with one of my lab Pokémon, but if you're anything like your brother, I know it'll be in good hands." _But that was a long time ago,_ Dorian wanted to protest. He was a different person now. Different priorities. None of those thoughts made it to his face for Rowan to see. "Now listen, I can't talk with you for much longer. I need to head out while there's still decent light.”

Dorian hadn’t noticed that while the two of them had been talking, the older man’s aides had completed their various tasks and had packed up everything the professor would need for his trip. Looking over his shoulder, the teen saw them all waiting for further instruction, a smattering of bags lined at the base of the stairs.

Professor Rowan looked down at Dorian with something almost like fondness in his eyes. “My assistants will help you with whatever you may need; you can head back to Jubilife as soon as you’re ready. Perhaps by walking this time. Give you and your new Pokémon a chance to get acquainted, maybe even test out that Pokedex? It’ll come back to you, I’m sure. Good day, Dorian."

And with a signature pat on the shoulder, and a firm nod of the head, the professor turned and left the lab with a trail of his assistants following with his luggage.

That was that.

Never mind the fact that Dorian hadn’t dressed for traveling by foot. Or that he still had no idea what to even do with a Pokémon, let alone journey with one. He may have been that person in the past, but things changed. He liked his life as it was now – planned, organized, predictable… safe. Kai couldn’t afford him to be otherwise.

The ball in his hand wasn’t heavy by any standard, but Dorian found himself fervently wishing to find his brother as soon as possible, just to escape its weight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, you've just completed the first step of a very, very extensive journey. It's gonna be big.
> 
> Also, just as heads up, if there are any excessively generous and dedicated fans of Pokemon out there, I am currently in the market for a beta. If I'm left to my own devices, the output of chapters is going to be stupidly slow because I have a tendency to never be satisfied with my work without having a soundboard or at least another pair of eyes to tell me what I've written isn't horrible. So, if you are a "see a need, fill a need" kind of person, please let me know! I would be happy to have any help.
> 
> Otherwise, feedback is welcome!


	2. For the First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorian makes a new friend.
> 
> "There was a certain kind of piercing look to the trainer’s face, all sharp angles and keen interest, like a predator on the hunt. Dorian could tell from the pointed smirk growing on the stranger’s lips that this conversation wasn’t going to be too pleasant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! And finally figured out how long this piece of work was going to be. It's an estimation. Odds are I'll get to writing the chapter and I'll go overboard and then a natural break will present itself...wouldn't be surprised if I managed to stretch it to 40 chapters. Oh well. Please read and enjoy!

**~`*`~**

**Chapter Two: For the First Time**

~`*`~

 

_When Dorian first decided to become a Pokémon trainer, he was five and playing with a Bonsly at a family friend’s home out in the garden. The property stretched acres, and the surrounding reserve was filled with creatures from the numerous locations in the world. There were Pokémon with fur soft like air, and others that were so friendly it was like they’d known him for years. But this one was Dorian’s favorite. The little tree Pokémon liked to mimic everything Dorian did, which was a source of immense amusement for the boy. He whiled away hours just to see how far the mimicry could go, and the Bonsly never tired of copying him._

_“Can I keep him?” the boy finally asked his mother, batting his eyes and dragging the bewildered creature along to make the plea even harder to resist._

_The family friend had laughed loudly at the request, a booming chuckle that seemed to rattle the very windows of the sitting room. The man turned to Dorian’s mother with a broad grin under his bush of a mustache, stating that the child had good taste. “That one is from a whole other region, my boy. Very rare! You have a good eye.”_

_The statement was punctuated with a wink, and Dorian had never felt more special._

_But his mother merely smiled and said he was too young. “Maybe when you’re older,” she soothed, placating as she sipped her tea._

_This was not the answer Dorian wanted to hear. “How older?” he demanded, clutching the Bonsly ever closer._

_It was then she told him that Pokémon trainers began their journey when they turned ten._

_Ten was the magic number._

_He didn’t understand what it meant to be a Pokémon trainer. Not truly. All he knew was that he enjoyed Pokémon, and wanted them to keep them all as his friends. Ten seemed forever away, but a fire had been lit. He wanted to have a Pokémon. He was going to be a trainer, no matter what._

 

~`*`~

 

Dorian emerged from the lab and returned back to the upper level of Professor Rowan’s house in a daze. Once there, he ran into Jude again, waiting patiently at the dining table with a simple leather sack. Its contents included a map, a bit of rope, some snacks for the road, and a couple medicinal bottles that the teen didn’t immediately recognize. The aide told Dorian that Professor Rowan had requested such a bundle be put together for Dorian’s use. Even if he had been in the right mindset to argue, Dorian had little choice but to accept, considering the meager contents of his pockets. He hadn’t even thought to bring a bag with him that morning.

So, thanks again to Jude, who purposefully avoided the subject of driving the dark-haired boy back to Jubilife, Dorian found himself setting out on Route 202 with a moderately full sack over his shoulders and a Pokeball in his pocket. His watch read that it was just after eleven o’clock in the morning, giving him roughly seven hours to make it down the route before night fell. If he didn’t reach the city by that time, he’d be in a bit of a bind.

Dorian gave a heavy sigh. This is not what he expected when he woke up that day.

Jude had attempted to impart some advice on Dorian before rushing off, advice that the bespectacled teen wanted to dismiss but couldn’t quite manage it.

“Pokémon take a bit of time to warm up to their trainers,” the man had said with a sheepish grin. “If you can, try letting yours walk portions of the trip beside you rather than keeping it in the Pokeball. You’ll find it does wonders for your teamwork and it’ll grow that much faster.  I mean, who likes cabin fever, right?”

Dorian huffed, pushed his hand into the bulging pouch of his woolen coat, and hesitantly brushed his fingers along the smooth surface of the ball. “Cabin fever, huh?” he muttered to himself, before yanking his hand out and shoving both fists into the pockets of his slacks with an annoyed grunt.

He wasn’t a trainer. There was no need to masquerade as one.

Thus Dorian began his trek with a scowl, making his way down the route with long, determined strides. Though at points the trail petered off and left him struggling his way through the tall grass in order to get back on track, he kept his eyes and attention fixed to the path with absolutely no interest in the surrounding forest or its inhabitants.

Still, on occasion, the dark-haired teen found his thoughts or his hand slipping back to the Pokeball in his jacket, the slight bump of the device knocking lightly against his hip with every step. A part of the boy worried if the creature inside could feel how it was jostled about, but the idea was stupid. If the sensors on that thing were that sensitive, a trainer’s Pokémon would constantly suffer from motion sickness. Throwing the ball into battle would be enough to disorient them. With that theory, the concern was firmly shoved out of Dorian’s mind.

Half an hour into his journey, though, another apprehension revealed itself, one significantly harder to ignore. With every snap or rustle in the surrounding foliage, the teen was painfully aware that any second he could easily do something to provoke the existing wildlife whose home he was gracelessly stumbling through. The only thing standing between him and a wild Pokémon attack was his own Pokémon. And that particular Pokémon had very little reason to fight on his behalf.

_Did it even know how to fight?_

The realization made him halt suddenly with something akin to fear flooding like ice through his veins. Again, his hand drifted to brush delicately at the sphere at his waist hidden in the depths of his coat. Dorian swallowed, reconsidering his initial anxiety about releasing his loaned partner and weighed it against the possible threat of being ambushed. Did he really want to wait until he had no choice and hope for the best? Or should he try to at least eliminate any potential animosity between him and his temporary Pokémon now?

He closed his eyes and bowed his head in defeat. There was only one clear answer, much as he hated to admit it.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself and finally fished the ball roughly out of his pocket. After considering the sphere for a moment, he thought about saying something before calling the Pokémon out – didn’t trainers normally do such things? He rejected the notion. There was no point in making a show.

Without any theatrics, Dorian dropped the ball. As it had before, it burst open with a dazzling explosion of light. This time the teen was prepared for the flash, and once the glow faded, he let his hand fall from shielding his eyes and observed the small blue penguin before him. The Piplup blinked, adjusting to the outdoor sunlight before swiveling its head around to meet Dorian’s stare.

Immediately those eyes turned cold and guarded, pinning Dorian with its distrustful gaze.

Dorian slumped with a small frown. It seemed like he was receiving that reaction a lot recently.

“Uh…hey,” he started haltingly. The teen crouched low to the ground, mindful of the fact that he was wearing his nice pair of black slacks. Instead, he propped his elbows on his knees while balancing on the balls of his feet, and cleared his throat. “Um. I’m Dorian.”

The Piplup stared at him, obviously unimpressed.

_Did Pokémon even understand English?_

Huffing softly to himself and feeling incredibly foolish, the dark-haired boy shifted his weight awkwardly and tried again. “I…I don’t know anything about training Pokémon. I’m sorry. But I was hoping we could maybe come to an agreement.” Still nothing from the little penguin, but Dorian was building up steam, so he kept going. “See, I’m trying to find my brother. To deliver something to him. And to…” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. It shouldn’t take long. You’ll be back with Professor Rowan in no time. But I need to finish this, and it would be easier if I knew I could count on you to get it done.”

This seemed to catch the Pokémon’s interest. Its head cocked as if to better sense deception in the teen’s words. Noticing this, Dorian leveled his gaze and explained, “Kai just started on his journey a few days ago. I figure he couldn’t have gotten too far along. He probably hasn’t even gotten his first badge yet. If we plan it right, we can beat him there, and within the week you’ll be home free.”

The penguin took a moment to consider the situation. It waddled a few steps away, back turned to Dorian, much to his confusion. Then, the little creature twirled back around. “Pip,” it chirped its understanding.

Dorian breathed deeply in relief. “Great.”

And from the undergrowth on the right darted a black and blue shadow.

Before Piplup could do more than turn and register the newcomer’s presence, it took a hard tackle in the side, and both went tumbling into the foliage on the other side of the path. Dorian toppled backwards with a grunt of alarm, knocking his glasses askew as he frantically tried to right himself.

 _So much for not getting these pants dirty_ , he thought as he regained his footing, slapping the dust out of the back of his thighs with one hand while readjusting the lenses on his nose with the other. He frantically twisted around to find his bearings. A furious cacophony of hissing and shrieks came from the deep foliage and made his heart pound erratically.

“Hey!” he yelled in the general direction he saw the Pokémon disappear, diving after them and swatting branches and leaves out of the way. The screeching of Piplup chilled him, ringing deep in his ears and making it hard to focus on much else. “Hey!” he shouted again, simply for a lack of anything else to say.

Finally he stumbled into a clearing to find the Piplup on the ground, struggling to get back on its feet. A small distance away stood a small four-legged feline, star-shaped tail twitching as it stalked closer to the fallen Pokémon. Dorian took in its dark blue fur, glowing yellow eyes, and wished his brother had a poster of it on his wall. He didn’t recognize it at all.

He really wasn’t suited for being a trainer.

“Piplup!” he called to his Pokémon, surprised to hear a note of worry in his own voice _. Of course I’m worried_ , he reasoned while his heartbeat thumped wildly in his chest. Piplup didn’t actually belong to him. Professor Rowan wouldn’t forgive him if anything happened to it.

During this time it finally got to its feet and, though it appeared quite roughed up, mostly the blue penguin looked pissed. Piplup didn’t bother to look in his direction, but given that this was a wild Pokémon encounter, it was Dorian’s job to give instructions, right? “Okay, okay, need to think…” He didn’t even know how to do that. What would Piplup even know? It was a Water-type, right? So a water-based move, right?

_Right?_

“Piplup! Uh…attack with water!” Dorian ordered.

However, instead of acting as instructed, the penguin twisted around to give him what could only be described as an indignant glare, which made Dorian blink in shock. Before the bespectacled teen could try interpreting the message, Piplup refocused its attention on the wild Pokémon before charging. The cat yowled loudly at the challenge and leapt forward to meet it.

Piplup, catching the movement out of the corner of its eyes, abandoned its own attack and dove out of the way. The cat hurtled uncontrollably towards Dorian, who immediately backpedaled to protect himself in the nearby tufts of grass. Without missing a beat, the beast regained its footing and pivoted a clean one-eighty on its forepaws before deftly bounding after Piplup once more. The penguin set determined eyes on its advancing opponent, readying its stance for something that Dorian couldn’t begin to guess.

“What am I doing?” the teen mumbled to himself, feeling completely inept.

Right as the two Pokémon were about to make contact, a third fiery red blur entered from the other side of the clearing and jumped into the fray. It knocked the feline aside with a forceful shoulder check, grabbed Piplup around the middle, and leapt clear before the wild Pokémon could retaliate. The newcomer landed on a boulder emerging from the swaying field not three feet from where Dorian stood dumbfounded, allowing him to take in the sight of Piplup’s rescuer.

It was a Chimchar, this one he did know. Or… the dark-haired teen guessed, from what little he could recall from his brother’s ramblings. Kai had pictures of the three Sinnoh starters in his room along with several others, so the names were hard to keep straight. But the Chimchar poster was situated directly across the way from the door to his room, so it was the one Dorian continuously saw. The chimp with a flame for a tail and a strange furl of fur growing from the top of its head – the fire-type that Dorian had always thought looked ridiculous.

It didn’t look so ridiculous now, staring down the wild Pokémon with abnormally stoic features. Piplup was tucked under its arm, angrily squirming its way out of the chimp’s grip in order to stand on its own feet. However, in its haste, the penguin lost its footing and toppled down the side of the boulder and into the grass, out of sight.

The cat didn’t look happy at the possibility of now being double-teamed. It circled around the boulder for a better vantage point, pawed the ground in preparation, and then took off at a run towards the chimp to end things with a vicious Tackle. The monkey Pokémon sensed the approach and immediately dodged, jumping to the side as the feline rushed harmlessly passed. While hanging in the air, Chimchar opened its mouth, and from the depths of its gut burst forth a spray of fire that pelted the wild Pokémon’s flank, forcing out a yowl of pain. The cat tripped and tumbled head over heels before abruptly dropping on its face in a daze. The chimp landed on its feet and made a chittering sound of victory.

Before Dorian could do much more than comprehend the Pokémon’s defeat, yet another object flew from the shaded foliage to the right – a Pokeball. It arced through the air, glinting in the sunlight, before hitting the fallen feline in the small of its back. The ball popped open, engulfed the Pokémon in a vibrant red light, before snapping closed and plopping softly on the grass. It rocked back and forth for a beat or two, and stilled with a muffled click.

“Yes!” a jovial voice crowed. Dorian watched in silent fascination as the chimp picked up the ball from the grass and dutifully returned to its presumed trainer with it in its grasp. The figure emerging from the trees was gesticulating excitedly with both hands as the Chimchar nimbly leapt onto – his? her? – shoulder to deliver the ball. A motion of thanks passed from human to Pokémon before both sets of eyes turned to meet his own.

There was a certain piercing look to the trainer’s face, all sharp angles and keen interest, like a predator on the hunt. Dorian could tell from the pointed smirk growing on the stranger’s lips that this conversation wasn’t going to be too pleasant.

“Having a little trouble there, were ya?” Given the distance between them, it was hard to tell from the voice whether the newcomer was male or female. Nothing about her – him? – gave anything away. Dressed in a mustard yellow hoodie partially zipped over a lilac T-shirt, and sporting a loose tan beanie over disheveled chin-length red hair, everything about him – no, her – straddled the line between comfortably eccentric and recklessly dilapidated. “Hope I didn’t rob you of a catch there, but I figured better safe than sorry.”

The dark-haired teen cleared his throat, “No, that’s fine, thank you. I – we, were just…caught off-guard.”

The smirk widened. “No kidding. Your Piplup looks pretty roughed up.” The Chimchar on his – _her_ – shoulder made a couple of hand signals, to which the redhead replied in kind.

“Ah…yeah,” Dorian agreed slowly, giving them a sideways glance before turning his attention to the Pokémon in question struggling its way out of the foliage. “You wouldn’t happen to know how close Jubilife is, would you? I’d rather not head back to Sandgem if I can avoid it. Kind of in a rush.”

“Jubilife? You’ve still got quite a few hours of travel ahead of you, dude. You’d do well to turn around if you want to get that one healed up.” The redhead started walking closer to the duo, stepping carefully through the underbrush.

Dorian frowned, and looked over Piplup. The Pokémon had managed to work itself free of the tall grass and now stood uncertainly in the vague vicinity of the teen. It certainly looked beat after that skirmish, but seemed to be carefully avoiding his gaze. Dorian set his jaw. “That’s not an option. We’ll just have to keep going and hope for the best.”

The stranger, a few feet from them now, gave a surprised bark of laugher while waving aside a wayward tree branch. “Are you serious? You were nearly taken out by a wild Shinx and you want to go farther from civilization? What are you, a newbie?”

Frown deepening into a scowl, Dorian snapped, “Does it matter?”

This caused the redhead to pause open-mouthed for a second before locking eyes with the chimp Pokémon. This time, the trainer instigated the exchange of hand gestures, to which the chimp rapidly responded. This continued for a few beats before Dorian began getting further and further embarrassed. For all he knew, they were swapping silent comments about how pathetic he was. That particular thought ate at him until his temper got the best of him.

“Look, can you two just… stop that? It’s very distracting, not to mention rude, and I don’t appreciate being talked about in secret right in front of me!”

By the end of his outburst, Dorian’s voice had elevated to the point where even Piplup looked startled. A ringing silence followed, before the stranger straightened and evenly met his angry gaze.

“Aiden’s deaf.”

The comment was so bluntly delivered that it took a second for it to register. The redhead let it stew for a few beats, startling light-blue eyes steadily watching the color drain from Dorian’s face. Taking in a slow, calming breath, the explanation continued, “He didn’t know what you were saying, so I was filling him in. We were just discussing whether or not to help you. We have some potions to spare that can heal your Piplup and get you to Jubilife in one piece.”

Now Dorian felt sick.

“Oh.”

The Chimchar looked between the two humans before swinging down to access the worn leather satchel hanging at his trainer’s side. He rummaged around inside before pulling out a single blue bottle with a spray head that Dorian found vaguely familiar. Belatedly he realized that Jude had given him similarly-colored bottles before he had left that morning. The Pokémon then dropped to the ground and cautiously approached Piplup, who had found the base of a tree to rest nearby during the course of the conversation.

“Here,” the redhead said softly to the chimp Pokémon, kneeling down while deft fingers presumably gestured the same message. “I’ll do that.”

The bottle exchanged hands, and the potion was sprayed on Piplup’s injuries, causing the penguin to croon with a mix of relief and pain. A fresh wave of guilt engulfed Dorian’s insides at the sound.

“Thank you,” he forced out through a tightening throat. “And…I’m sorry. It was insensitive of me to say those things. I’m not usually… Sorry.”

The stranger gave him a sideways look and said with a half-smirk, “You’re not usually sorry?” Dorian opened his mouth to clarify, but was cut-off when the other teen continued with a shrug. “I’m teasing. And it’s fine, you didn’t know. Anyway, Potions work instantaneously, but it might be a good idea to let this one rest a bit before heading on.” It was said with such lightness, the dark-haired boy barely picked up on the underlying tension in the other’s voice.

Dorian didn’t know what to say, so just shuffled his feet awkwardly as his Pokémon was healed at the hands of someone else. While the newcomer’s attention was focused elsewhere, Dorian allowed himself a more thorough examination of his companion. The beige cargo pants were well worn, ripped around the cuffs and threadbare in the knees. The yellow hoodie was similarly loved, though surprisingly still holding its vibrant color, with the sleeves fraying and the hem sporting several holes. Dorian had a decent angle of the stranger’s profile, noting the short red hair peeking out from under the beanie, as well as what looked like numerous piercings in one ear that glinted in the sunlight. It was still difficult to even tell if they were close in age, but Dorian suspected that this trainer couldn’t be younger than sixteen.

Just when Dorian was sure that the silence would be permanent, the redhead gave a loud, forceful sigh. “Look, _I’m_ sorry for my comment earlier. Most people leaving Sandgem are beginner trainers that just turned ten, I didn’t expect…”

“I know.” Dorian was so relieved that they were talking again, the apology barely registered in his mind. “I’m not really a trainer anyway. I’m just trying to find my brother and deliver his Pokedex to him.”

The stranger blinked up at him with a furrowed brow, “Really?”

“Yes, he, um, left home without it,” he explained clumsily, “so I wanted to make sure he got it.”

“Huh.” The response was said with an even tone, but Dorian sensed that the redhead was still confused. Rather than offering further details, the bespectacled teen floundered for a subject change.

“How about you, where are you heading?” he tried politely.

His companion paused at the shift of the conversation, and took a second to reply. “Uh, well, I’m actually looking for Professor Rowan. You know him?”

“Actually yes, I just came from his lab.” Noticing the redhead’s eyebrows raise in interest, Dorian carefully elaborated. “He isn’t there anymore. I think he left saying something about Canalave and had to head out.”

This caused the stranger to groan with dissatisfaction, and returned to spraying Piplup with the last of the Potion. “Canalave? Ugh, I just came from there…”

Now it was Dorian’s turn to have his interest piqued.

“Really? Do you live in that area?” he inquired, shuffling closer to lean against the tree, partially to watch the medicine administered to his Pokémon, partially to hear the answer better. Having spent most of his life in Jubilife, his family had taken rare vacations to Canalave. As a boy, Kai had been fascinated by the massive shipyard, and Dorian had taken to the immense library. Part of him wished he could grow up that close to the water, but such was life.

“No, no,” the redhead waved away the question as if it were a pesky bug, then proceeded to stowaway the used Potion bottle in the satchel. “I just came in from Johto. Canalave is where the ship docked. I was working under Professor Elm over there” – _Ah,_ he thought with an inward groan, _another assistant?_ –“and now I’m playing messenger for him. But walking all the way back to Canalave…” Trailing off, his companion closed the flap on the satchel and moved to stand so that they could speak eye-to-eye. They were close in height, Dorian noticed, and wondered yet again if they were close in age as well.

“If it helps, he did say something about stopping through Eterna City too,” he shared, rubbing his hands together. “Maybe you can catch him there?”

The redhead hummed in consideration with arms akimbo. “That’s an idea. Guess I have little choice in the matter at this point.”

“You can’t leave the message with his assistants at the lab?”

It took a few beats for Dorian to get an answer from the redhead, who was obviously lost in thought. “…No, not really.”

“Oh…” the dark-haired boy breathed out, running a hand through his hair.

The stranger heaved a sigh, then met Dorian’s stare with a friendly expression. “In any case, you can recall your Pokémon to its Pokeball now. The potion should have done its job.”

“Ah, right, thanks.” Dorian plucked the Pokeball from his pocket, but hesitated briefly. He’d never recalled a Pokémon before. Giving his companion a quick sideways glance, the dark-haired teen feigned confidence as he leveled the ball to the blue penguin. “Return,” he said simply, and had to hide his surprise when a focused red beam shot out from the center of the device and engulfed the Pokémon in its fierce ruby glow before disappearing inside the ball. Dorian stared down at the Pokeball for a moment before stuffing it back into his jacket. Only then did he notice how dirty his sleeves were from his earlier tumble, and with another frown he attempted to swat them clean. Then the teen remembered the state of his trousers, and started inspecting them too.

The redhead was still eyeing him with a contemplative look in those pale blue eyes, before finally saying, “You’re heading that way, right? Back to Jubilife City?”

“Um...yes,” Dorian answered, pausing in his clothing assessment to glance towards the fragmented, winding route he was walking only moments before.

“Mind if I tag along? Seems like you could do with the company.” It was said as a tease, the other teen offering a crooked smirk to soften the provocative words.

Dorian gave a half-smile in response, and gave up on cleaning his outfit to turn back to the path. He’d just wash it all that night. The thought of home was comforting, and perhaps a traveling companion would make the journey go by faster. “Sure.”

The two started off through the forest, both still lingering on their own private thoughts. However, before Dorian drifted off too deep, he straightened suddenly. Turning to his companion, curiosity furrowed his brow. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“Oh, I didn’t say earlier?” the redhead responded, sincerely surprised. “My bad! I’m Kenna. What’s yours?”

He paused for a beat, considering the position he now found himself in and the consequences for revealing his identity. The Calder name was quite well-known, for his father was one of the founding members of the Poketch Company. Dorian himself was rather high up in the rankings after only working in the industry for the past couple years. Kenna seemed like a decent person, but the Calder reputation carried a lot of weight, and money did interesting things to some people.

“My name is Dorian,” the bespectacled boy shared simply. Besides, he didn’t know Kenna’s last name either. So instead, he extended his hand for a shake, which Kenna took without missing a beat.

“Fancy,” his companion observed nonchalantly with a casual pump before releasing his palm. The attention then shifted to the Pokeball at Dorian’s side. “What about your Piplup?”

“Piplup?” Dorian frowned.

Kenna raised an eyebrow, head lowered in mild disbelief. “Well, yeah. Like I said earlier, my Chimchar’s name is Aiden. Didn’t you give Piplup a name?”

He staggered from the question, but did his best to hide it, “Uh, of course. Yes. Yes, Piplup’s name is” – he floundered, grasping for any name that came to mind – “Nobu.”

The redhead stared.

“…Nobu?”

“Yes, it’s short for…Nobunaga,” Dorian clarified with certainty that came off only a little bit contrived. In fact, he was starting to warm to the name.

“Nobu…naga,” Kenna parroted with a blank face.

“Yes.”

Kenna looked ahead, expression gradually folding in confusion, before turning back to Dorian. “As in the famous…?”

“Exactly,” the dark-haired teen affirmed with a nod.

His companion continued to observe his face for a few moments more, before finally turning back to the path. “…Cool,” Kenna commented at last, and Dorian silently breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t say why he lied about naming Piplup. It’s not like Kenna didn’t already know he wasn’t a serious trainer – Dorian had even said so earlier. Piplup wasn’t even his, really. But something about the way the question was phrased made him feel guilty. Like it was some form of abuse to not name a Pokémon. He’d panicked. He wasn’t a bad person; he just wasn’t going to fall for the charade he’d been unceremoniously thrust into. _This is only temporary_ , the teen told himself with determination. Piplup would be Nobu for now. There was no harm in a name.

Unbeknownst to Dorian, however, Kenna signed a quick message to Aiden, the contents of which caused the two to share a smirk, and had the little chimp trying to stifle a giggle with his little hands.

 

~`*`~

 

It was well into the evening by the time the two reached the edge of Jubilife City, much to Dorian’s annoyance.

Kenna’s company for the second leg of the trip had been a welcome change in that it came with a wealth of trainer tips and knowledge that Dorian would have been lost without otherwise (loathe though he was to admit it), such as handling Pokémon encounters and commanding his own “starter,” as the redhead had called it. During their travel, Dorian was educated in the ways of type advantages and disadvantages, as well as knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the Pokémon in the area.

“It helps if you have a Pokedex,” Kenna had explained in the midst of one of their short breaks.

The two had stopped and climbed on a cluster of boulders not too far from the beaten path that were shaded by the surrounding foliage. Dorian, having both an untrained appetite and skipped breakfast that morning, already ate his meager store of foods given to him back at Rowan’s lab. He ended up snacking on a couple packages of dried fruit the redhead had brought along and was kind enough to share with him. Aiden had shown the pouches extreme interest as well, peeking over their shoulders to snatch handfuls when they weren’t paying attention.

“A Pokedex,” Kenna continued through a mouthful of food, “can tell you a lot of information about a Pokémon you’ve never seen before, as well as the status of your current team. For instance…”

His companion then turned the machine on Aiden, who had just finished his pilfered portion and resumed sitting innocently on Kenna’s shoulder as he was scanned. The redhead then leaned over to show Dorian the screen, now filled with various data depicting the Pokémon’s height, weight, and general behavior patterns on the top screen. On the bottom screen, it showed his current health, development, and abilities.

“See?” Kenna snapped the device shut, and Aiden promptly left his trainer’s side again. “It really comes in handy when training. I’ve had one since I became Professor Elm’s assistant, so I have no idea how trainers without a Pokedex get by. They’re only given out to select individuals that professors think show special promise, so they’re rather rare. Not to brag or anything,” the redhead added with a sheepish head rub.

Dorian, however, was intrigued. He remembered the vague conversation he’d had back at the lab with Prof. Rowan, but given his state of mind at the time, he couldn’t recall exactly what had been said. He chewed thoughtfully for a second and swallowed. “Really? I’m surprised my brother was given one. Well, would have been, if he’d remembered to pick it up.” At that, he set down his snack bag and instead pulled out the Pokedex in question for Kenna to examine.

Blue eyes bright and calculating, his travel companion also abandoned food in favor of the machine and flipped it open. Aiden took advantage of his trainer’s distraction by sneaking around and plucking a few more berries, eating them with silent relish. After pressing a few buttons, Kenna made a small noise of triumph, and a soft feminine voice started to sound from the speaker of the device. “This Pokedex is registered to Pokémon Trainer Kaiten Calder of the city Jubilife, given by Professor Rowan of town Sandgem for the purpose of providing information for research and training. If lost or stolen, this device cannot be replaced.”

“Huh,” the redhead said with what could now be recognized as a trademark pointy smirk, handing back the Pokedex. “Guess you weren’t lying.” The remark was punctuated with a hearty handful of dried berries, which Kenna noisily chewed.

“Why would I be lying?” Dorian questioned with a frown as he stored the device. He didn’t think he came off as duplicitous and didn’t appreciate his words being put in doubt. Oblivious to his distress, Aiden stole some slices from the dark-haired teen’s abandoned snack pouch.

Kenna shrugged, still in the process of munching, and mumbled out, “I said before that a Pokedex is rare. Sometimes people steal them and pass them off as their own. But Professors usually register them to the trainer right from the get-go with fingerprints and the like, and registration is typically permanent, so no one but the trainer can use them. Since technically you received it straight from Professor Rowan himself, I thought maybe it’d be registered to you instead of your brother. Just wanted to see. Sorry.”

“Oh.” That made a lot more sense than the dark-haired teen had expected. Immediately his temper was mollified, and Dorian turned his attention to his food. He frowned at how few pieces there were left, but nonetheless went back to popping fruit one at a time into his mouth.

“I’m also surprised he granted you secondary access though. I suppose it makes sense, with you guys being brothers and all. So anyway, last name is Calder, huh?”

At this, Dorian jaw froze mid-toss, a single dried berry bouncing off his bottom lip onto the ground below. _Oh crap_.

But Aiden, literally deaf to the conversation, dove after the berry with single-minded purpose, knocking against Dorian’s elbow and causing the rest of the snack to be ejected into the air and plummet down the side of the boulder. “Hey!” he snapped at the Pokémon, but got distracted by Kenna snorting out laugher beside him.

Belatedly, the dark-haired teen recalled the information rattled off by the Pokedex, and internally groaned. “Um. Calder. Yeah.”

“Cool. Well, anyway,” Kenna continued cheerfully, “since you have a Pokedex, that means that we can help you get up to scruff with Nobu!”

“What?” This was not how Dorian expected the conversation to go. But the redhead seemed to take no heed in the natural progression of linear thought. Kenna crumpled the empty fruit bag back into the satchel before leaping to the ground near Aiden in short order. Once regaining balance, Kenna shot him an understanding look, one hand placed on a cocked hip.

“What’s the problem?” the redhead asked pointedly.

The bespectacled teen frowned. “I told you. I’m not a trainer.”

Kenna gave him an eye roll and an exasperated shake of the head. “You have a Pokémon, and you have a Pokedex. For all intents and purposes, as of right now, you’re a trainer. You can’t bumble your way through Sinnoh trying to find your brother without being able to handle yourself or Nobu properly! So we’re gonna fix that.”

There was sound reasoning behind that argument, Dorian couldn’t deny it. But another part of him was reluctant to accept the offer. After all, it wasn’t easy living a life once considered unavailable. Still, Nobu was back in its Pokeball in his pocket, and he was again very conscious of its presence at his side. “We are?”

“You’re still beginners,” the assistant clarified pointedly, “which means you two need to practice giving and following commands in battle. Come on! We’ll teach you.”

Dorian’s protests fell weak on his companion’s ears as he clambered down from his own boulder, but the rather abrupt subject change left the conversation about his surname in the dust, for which the dark-haired boy was supremely grateful. At least, judging from Kenna’s reaction, he didn’t have to worry about any seedy attempts to extort money. In fact, though she was a bit more talkative, the redhead showed little interest in Dorian’s parentage for the rest of the trip.

Instead the following hours were filled with battle scrimmages, both against wild Pokémon and Kenna’s freshly-caught Shinx, much to Dorian’s chagrin. When the redhead had first released the Pokémon, Dorian had hastily taken several steps away in case the little beast recalled their previous battle and wanted to instigate another.

However, the dark-haired teen was surprised to find that the feline was rather tame and even in good spirits at the change in events. It rubbed itself against Kenna’s shins, purring and arching with happiness. Dorian noticed Aiden had moved to lounge in a nearby tree, plucking at the leaves on the branches with more concentration than the teen felt was truly warranted, but ultimately resolved to pay the little chimp no mind, and returned his attention back to the little Shinx. Kenna laughed and picked up the Pokémon, cradling it and cooing as the cat continued to mewl at the attention.

“Are we sure that’s the same monster that jumped us?” Dorian inquired skeptically as it batted at the necklace around Kenna’s neck with a gentle paw. “If it’s so docile, then why did it react so violently to Nobu? We weren’t even doing anything antagonistic!”

“Most trainers think similarly,” the redhead mused while twiddling playful fingers over the feline’s muzzle. “But Pokémon draw lines of association that humans don’t always see. For many predator types, like this Shinx, territory is a really powerful incentive to fight. If someone, knowingly or unknowingly, releases a Pokémon in a particular area that another has claimed, they see it as a challenge and act accordingly. Now that this little one lost, it has no reason to fight. Hence, it’s a cute little bundle of fluff that really likes being babied.” The last statement was punctuated with a chuckle and another mew from the Shinx. In the tree, Aiden gave an irritated chitter that Kenna seemed to not hear.

Dorian couldn’t help but offer a flat look. “Well, good to know, I guess.”

Nodding thoughtfully in agreement, Kenna hummed, “Judging from the markings on the legs, this Shinx is female, so…I think I’ll name you…Nariko. Kiddo for short, though, until you grow into it. You’re a tiny thing, aren’t you?” Kiddo playfully nipped at the dangling fingers, then yawned widely. The assistant laughed again before putting the feline back on the ground. “Well, you up for a battle?”

So with that, Kenna instructed Dorian on proper battling decorum, demonstrating various tactics and methods of attaining key information about opponents in order to bring them down. It brought back a lot of memories from Dorian’s time at the Pokémon Academy when he was younger. He learned what kind of move set Nobu could execute – his only offensive attack at the moment was Pound, but that was okay since it seemed to get the job done with all the Bidoof they encountered – and before long he was holding his own against any challenger they came across, wild or trained. In fact, when Dorian won his first battle against a fellow beginner coming back to Sandgem, he was startled when the younger kid forked over a handful of bills with a grumpy look on her face.

“Money?” Dorian had questioned Kenna once the kid was out of earshot. He didn’t want his opponent to know how much of a novice he really was.

“Losers hand over half the cash they have on them to the victor. Didn’t you know?” The dark-haired teen grumbled at the jibe, but pocketed the money nonetheless. Though he felt kind of guilty for taking money from a child, it was still surprisingly affirming to have won it all on his own (ignoring Kenna’s coaching from the sidelines). His initial reservations were all but gone.

Everything was falling into place nicely. Dorian was learning what it would take to wade through the wild and finally find his brother, as well as getting stronger as a trainer. It would have been an ideal way to travel.

Except…

“I don’t get it. When will you perform a proper electric attack?” Kenna mused down at Kiddo, deep in thought. Dorian watched the two wander past where he stood alone on the outcrop bordering the city sprawled below them. The sun had nearly finished dropping below the horizon, radiating between the buildings already lit from within. Even the streetlamps were on in preparation for the coming darkness. He breathed deeply, shook his head, and wandered away.

After both Nobu and Kiddo had reached a certain stage of development, according to Kai’s Pokedex, Kenna had insisted on pitting them against each other. “The more advanced the opponent, the faster they increase their growth,” the assistant had explained. However, when Kiddo had beaten Dorian’s Piplup three times in succession, the dark-haired teen had firmly denied partaking in another round, finally suggesting loudly that Kenna have Kiddo and Aiden battle it out. The redhead’s icy glare was enough of a response, further compounded by the little Chimchar being recalled to his ball for the rest of the trip. From that point on, Kenna had taken to combing the route for wild Pokémon to challenge in hopes of Kiddo learning her first electric attack, adding at least another hour to their journey.

Now Kiddo was much further along and – much to Kenna’s confusion – hadn’t displayed any more physical attacks beyond the Tackle move she had been caught knowing. There was a small moment of hope when the Shinx’s fur started sparking after another victory, but it was only due to learning the defensive move Charge. This frustration grew with Nobu figuring out how to use Bubble, a move that was notably stronger than hitting opponents with its balled up flippers, and pleased the little penguin to no end. On the few occasions between battles that Dorian had the Piplup out of its Pokeball, Nobu passed the time by walking beside Dorian and shooting a few glistening spheres ahead of them before casually popping them with its beak.

Kiddo watched the redhead pace and mewled piteously, ears lying flat as she looked guiltily up at her trainer.

“Oh no, Kiddo,” Kenna cooed while bending to pick up the feline. “I’m not blaming you. Just surprised is all. Guess it means we’ll have to keep training, huh?” The trainer offered a scratch behind the kitten’s ears and the Shinx purred and sparked appreciatively.

“Well, we made it,” Dorian announced unnecessarily after a few awkward seconds of silence, simply to have something to say. “Guess we need to part ways—”

His companion cut him off with a derisive snort, “Not so fast, hotshot. We need to get these guys to a Pokémon Center. Potions are great, but they’re no substitute for proper care.” Dorian winced. He completely forgot about that.

Catching the look on his face, Kenna softened and offered a small smile. “Come on, then.”

The two walked in silence into the city limits, watching the sun set and cast its mellow golden glow over the towering buildings. There remnants of heat from the day seemed to slowly frost over the dimmer the city became. Haloed by the dying sunlight, the Pokémon Center looked more grand and majestic than Dorian had ever seen it, stationed in the middle of a city he could safely call home. For the first time, he truly was seeing it in a different light.

Automatic doors slid open and granted them entrance to a fairly populated lobby. As they approached the main desk, Dorian took in the sight of milling trainers waiting for their teams to be healed, and dozing Pokémon enjoying the time out of their balls. Sights that he had passed when he was younger, but had never felt personally connected to. It was strange to think that this was now the world he lived in, even if only for a short time. The thought stirred emotions inside of him that Dorian couldn’t decipher as especially positive or particularly negative. Simply, alien. These people were just like him. Like Kai. Occupying couches and walls and window ledges and floors; it was an intriguing sight, to the point where Dorian nearly missed Kenna’s exchange with the nurse.

“Dude,” the redhead nudged him in the side, Aiden now free from his Pokeball and clinging to one of Kenna’s shoulders. “She’s asking for your Piplup.”

Snapping out of his observations, he offered an apologetic “Oh!” and quickly freed Nobu’s Pokeball from his jacket pocket to place it gently in the tray already on the counter. Kenna bumped him again and gestured to the waiting room before walking off in its direction. Dorian watched his companion leave before turning his attention back to the nurse. She was fairly pretty, young with pinkish red hair and a white nursing outfit. He tried to offer a smile, but really it came out as more of a grimace.

“Name please?” the woman prompted, glancing at him briefly before turning her eyes back to the computer screen as she typed.

He cleared his throat and leaned close to avoid being overheard.

“Dorian Calder.”

The expected spark of recognition lit up her face. Dorian braced himself, hoping to avoid any further discussion on the topic.

But the nurse merely smiled and said, “Calder, huh? Would you happen to have a younger brother?”

At this, Dorian blinked and adjusted his glasses. “Uh, yes. Why?”

“He stopped in here earlier I believe, first thing in the morning. Nice boy, but seemed to be in a hurry. You two look alike. Does she have a name?”

Too engrossed in the new information just offered, the question caught Dorian off-guard. He was getting whiplash from the subject changes. “S-She?”

The nurse raised her eyebrow pointedly. “Your Piplup. What’s her name?”

“Ah, Nobunaga,” he answered thoughtlessly, still mulling over the fact that Kai had been in earlier. Somehow he’d missed his meeting with the Professor though… either way, it meant the boy really had left this morning, putting Dorian a full day behind if he left tomorrow. Dorian wondered how far Kai could travel in that time. It might not be possible to beat him to Oreburgh…

Upon hearing Piplup’s name, the nurse hesitated, but then just shrugged and continued typing. After a few moments, she announced, “Alright! You and Nobunaga are registered in our system. We’ll let you know when she’s ready!”

“Great, thanks.” With relief, he started to walk away and join Kenna on one of the waiting room couches, but paused as the exchange looped though his mind again. _When **she’s** ready?_ “She?!” he yelped again as he froze mid-stride, catching the bemused attention of a handful other trainers.

Hearing his exclamation, Kenna started cackling loudly across the room. It was a full-body laugh that had his companion toppling sideways on the cushions, so the redhead had to struggle to sign to Aiden what had just occurred. Soon enough, though, the little fire chimp was giggling along with his trainer, both curling in on themselves from the hilarity.

“You _knew_?” Dorian demanded stiffly, stalking over to the duo, unable to suppress a sense of betrayal. Nevertheless, he took a seat next to laughing pair, his glare unwaveringly leveled at them both.

“Of course I knew!” Kenna howled with another insane snigger. “You can’t call yourself a Pokémon researcher’s assistant if you can’t tell the sex of a Pokémon on sight!” The redhead laughed for a few more seconds while Dorian turned red, half from anger, and half from embarrassment. Finally calming, Kenna continued, “I can’t believe you didn’t know! Didn’t Rowan tell you before you left with her?”

“No!” he snapped, folding his arms tightly across his chest. “I told you, he had to leave early! I barely got anything out of the guy.”

“Ah, well,” Kenna said more quietly, wiping away a couple tears with a snort, “you know now. Unfortunately, your Piplup is now registered as Nobunaga in the system. It’s official until you can find a Name Rater who can change it. Not that I’m saying you should, though. Kinda cute, isn’t it? Challenges gender norms and what have you?” The smile became more of a pointed smirk; the trademark with which Dorian was now far too familiar.

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Dorian grumbled at his companion, still sulky. He slouched further in his seat and glared contemptuously to the side.

Tongue sticking out, the redhead grinned innocently despite Dorian being unable to see it.

They spent the following minutes in silence, Dorian still pouting and Kenna conversing quietly with Aiden. Just when Dorian doubted that there’d be any sunlight left by the time he’d arrive at his home, the nurse announced, “Dorian Calder, your Piplup is ready!”

Dorian got up and approached the counter, confused that Nobu was done before Kiddo considering he had checked in last. He collected the ball that the Piplup resided in, thanked the nurse, and made to turn back to Kenna. Before the dark-haired teen had made it more than a couple steps, the nurse called him back.

“Yes?” he said curtly, half-turned towards the desk.

“If you don’t mind, let your friend know that her Shinx will be done momentarily. It had a long day and needed a bit more time to recuperate.”

“Very well, I’ll tell her,” Dorian responded with a nod. He started back towards his companion before he paused again. Playing back the nurse’s statement, he bent his head forward with a defeated sigh.

 _Well, at least this revelation is less embarrassing for me_ , he thought to himself. After all, Kenna was still Kenna.

Dorian continued the rest of the way to where the redhead was sitting, suddenly feeling rather awkward. There was little point of them continuing to be partnered up, and it was steadily getting darker outside. Not to mention his outfit was essentially ruined from the journey, as it was covered in dust and sweat and who knew what else. He’d nearly forgotten about his current state, but with that passing reflection, Dorian had the sudden urge to be wearing anything but what he had on. Clearing his throat, the dark-haired teen spoke haltingly.

“Um, now that I’ve got Nobu back, I need to head home and start packing.”

This caught Kenna’s attention, and the redhead immediately focused sky-blue eyes on him. “Oh, right! Duh, you’re from here. Well, hey, it was cool traveling with you. Good luck with your brother! Maybe we’ll cross paths again at some point.”

The smile offered to him was so kind and genuine, it made Dorian squirm with discomfort. Though they had been travel companions for the better part of the day, the teen didn’t know whether or not to feel comfortable around the other trainer. There were times during their walks that Dorian could feel himself loosening up and relaxing in the cheerful aura the redhead emanated, but all it took was a careful reminder of how little they knew about each other, and he’d stiffen back up again.

Still, Kenna seemed to be a good person, and had helped him a lot. His journey would certainly be less fun alone…

“Kenna, your Shinx is ready!” the nurse announced from behind them.

“Yeah,” Dorian responded instead. “And good luck to you in finding Professor Rowan.”

Kenna scoffed, “Ha. That old man will have to try a lot harder to lose me. Luck will have nothing to do with it.” Punctuating the statement with a mischievous wink, the redhead turned and walked to retrieve her Pokémon with Aiden hanging from her shoulder. Interpreting that as a goodbye, the dark-haired teen also took his leave and started for the automatic doors of the Center.

 

~`*`~

 

It took a while to explain everything to his mother once he got home. She was patient and understanding, even going so far as to personally cook him dinner as he filled her in.

“I’m just glad you made it home safely,” Suzu had said, rubbing his shoulders lovingly. Once she had been sufficiently updated, Dorian wearily retired to his room, gratefully accepting a dinner tray on the way up. If this was what just one day as a Pokémon trainer was like, he couldn’t imagine living a life as one.

He barely mustered the energy to eat before going through his bedtime routine as quickly as possible, even showering despite the exhaustion that weighed down his limbs, just to rid himself of the sticky feeling of sweat and grime on his skin. Once Dorian had finished changing, the teen collapsed face down onto the pillowed luxury of his comforter and groaned in appreciation, burying his cheek further into the downy softness. Dorian lay there for a few beats of silence, before turning his attention to where his jacket lay crumpled on his floor.

Two objects caught his eye: The stark white material of his little brother’s tie, peeking out of the same pocket as the small red and white ball. Both glinted at him from the lamplight streaming through his window. After a moment of quiet observation, Dorian stretched his hand out and awkwardly angled his body on the bed so he wouldn’t fall. His fingers found the tie first then managed to snatch up the sphere as well and held both tightly in his palm.

He rolled over, and spent a moment studying the way the soft fabric slid noiselessly against the material of the ball’s smooth reflective shell.

 _Even if you were mad at me, why would you leave without your Pokedex?_ Dorian thought to himself, thumbing the hanging portion of the tie with his free hand in a gentle caress. _Idiot._

Still, he continued examining the metallic ball with an unreadable expression. It was hard to believe that such a small thing could contain a living creature. His mother had wanted to meet the Pokémon, but Dorian had argued against it. She wasn’t his, and it was important that he didn’t get too familiar. Still, the dark-haired teen didn’t want to accidentally mistreat her. Did it matter what he did with her at night? Would Nobu even know where he kept her ball? Kai would probably know the answer.

Their day together was a strange one. Dorian purposefully kept his mind from to linger too much on the Pokémon, too afraid of what that sort of attention could yield. But battling with Nobu, learning her movements…it was hypnotic. Nobu had surprising physical prowess, but watching her snipe wild enemies from afar with those seemingly harmless bubbles was just as impressive for such a small penguin. It made him wonder what it would be like if…

He shook his head and frowned again. Not only was it hard to not imagine possibilities that could never be, Dorian’s thoughts also drifted to his brother a lot. Kai had been obsessed with Pokémon ever since he was young, just like Dorian had been. Only his younger brother had done a lot more with that passion, never taking a second to think about the consequences of his actions. The dark-haired teen wondered how his brother was doing out there on his own. Was he as tired as Dorian felt? Were his Pokémon taking care of him? He hoped so.

It was hard to say for certain how long he lay there, eying the Pokeball as if mere observation would reveal all its secrets. However, once his eyes refused to stay open any longer, he maneuvered himself closer to his bedside table and placed it there, taking a second to protectively refold his younger brother’s tie and set right nearby so that they rested against each other. After affirming that the ball wouldn’t rotate off the polished wooden surface, Dorian took a minute more to view them both in the lamp light.

Then, with a deep breath, he turned himself over, tucked his hands beneath his head, and fell into a troubled sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I'm easing ya into it. No mean cliffhangers as of yet.
> 
> But yes, more characters introduce themselves! Gotta say, Aiden's situation was what first sparked the idea of this story. I always thought it'd be an interesting aspect to incorporate. In any case, I will probably begin adding links as the story goes on, including one to a character index that'll help give some visuals for everyone once they're introduced. For those confused about Kenna's reaction to Nobu's name, Nobunaga is the name of a male character in Pokemon Conquest. He's also the name of one of the three "unifier"s of Japan in the 16th century. I thought it was funny. Sorry.
> 
> As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated. I understand if the first chapter was a little dry. By my calculations, chapter four is when things get to be pretty meaty. But I'll try to make the next couple just as enjoyable.


	3. Trainer Tips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning, Dorian woke up with a giant cat in his face.

**~`*`~**

**Chapter Three: Trainer Tips**

**~`*`~**

 

_Dorian was eight when his little brother was born._

_He’d heard stories from other kids at school who also had younger siblings, about how noisy they were and how annoying they could be. They’d complain about how someone’s little sister had cried through the night so no one in their family got sleep, or how someone’s little brother had taken a liking to his older brother’s favorite toy and wouldn’t give it back without crying and now the older brother wasn’t allowed to play with his favorite toy anymore. One kid refused to even look at his little sister because he was sure that his parents loved her more than him. They hated sharing their rooms, they hated seeing their small clothes given away, and they hated their parents’ split attention._

_Dorian didn’t put much value in those kinds of stories._

_He’d been pulled from class when his teacher told him that they’d received a call from the Jubilife Emergency Ward saying that his mother had gone into labor earlier that afternoon. A work friend of his father’s had offered to come by the school and drive him to the hospital. The boy politely declined, saying that he didn’t mind walking._

_When school let out, Dorian ran the whole way._

_They wouldn’t let him into the delivery room – it was no place for young children – so he quietly found a seat in the waiting area, pulled out his school books, and dutifully started in on his homework. After a time, and feeling sweaty from his run to the hospital, Dorian divested himself of his school blazer and tie, folding them neatly and placing them in the adjacent chair. Hours passed, but he didn’t complain, and only stood on occasion to visit the bathroom or get a drink of water. Once he finished his assignments, he went about reading further into the Trainer textbook to keep himself busy. Dorian didn’t hear the nurses whispering and gossiping to each other about who he was and why he was here, and he especially didn’t hear about them asking where his father might be._

_It was well into the evening when he was finally able to see his mother._

_The nurses led Dorian down the hall into a small nondescript room, the curtain drawn partially around so as to afford the two some privacy. He barely waited for the nurse to rearrange the medical equipment before launching himself into his mother’s arms._

_“Dorian,” his mother whispered into his ebony locks with a soft smile, and he murmured a greeting back. When they parted, he kept his hand close and never let his gaze leave her. They didn’t talk about how late it was, about how he had school the next day, and they definitely didn’t talk about why his father wasn’t here too._

_Not long after, Dorian met his little brother._

_They wheeled him into the room inside a little bassinette, swaddled in bright turquoise blanket. There wasn’t really any crying, but there was gurgling and some hiccups and Dorian didn’t think it was possible to love any one creature more than he loved that bundle of cloth with that pink and oddly contorted face._

_It was decided that Dorian would spend the night with his mother at the hospital until she was feeling well enough to be released. They set up a little cot that could be wheeled up next to her bed, and the young boy laid down with his face turned towards her and the bassinette. Despite the exhaustion pulling at his eyelids, Dorian refused to sleep until both she and the baby had quieted into slumber. There was no way that he was going to let anything happen to his two most important people._

**~`*`~**

 

Clowns.

Why _clowns?_

Dorian barely got any sleep the night before, waking periodically from panicked dreams about Kai and his own shortcomings. Each time he tossed and turned while his brain raced, unable to find a way to calm himself down. After the third time, he finally conceded defeat, forgoing rest in order to come up with a plan. Long before the sun broke through his window, the dark-haired teen was up at his desk, constructing an email for his work explaining his absence and how he would let them know as soon as he could return to his job.

Despite what Prof. Rowan had said, the bespectacled teen figured he’d only be gone a week maximum, if his calculations were correct. Dorian tapped his pencil as he observed the meticulous notes he made on his desk pad. Beside it was a detailed map of the southern part of Sinnoh to help him visualize the journey. It may be impossible to truly predict Kai’s path, but it wasn’t too hard to make an educated guess.

To the best of his knowledge, the first gym was in Oreburgh City, which was directly east of Jubilife, maybe a two days’ trip. Once they got their badge, most trainers would turn back and pass through Jubilife again in order to get to Eterna easier, but there was also the option of braving the rocky pass that led to Hearthome. Dorian could easily wait at Jubilife’s Pokémon Center for the next couple days and hope that Kai came back down the route like the others, but the older brother had a feeling that the boy would decide to do something completely unpredictable and Dorian would be left sitting around for nothing.

 _Better to head to the Center in Oreburgh instead,_ he huffed, circling the city in question. It was likely that Kai was halfway to the city already, but odds were good that he could be in the city for an additional day. They might meet there. Also, if Kai did decide to pass through again, there was a chance that they’d cross paths on the route back. And if not, Dorian could turn around head on to Eterna…but then he’d be playing catch up for most of Kai’s trip, chasing him down the whole Badge circuit. However, if Dorian went to Hearthome, their grandparents lived there, which meant he’d have a place to stay.

It was the smartest option.

Dorian had nodded to himself before he pushed out of his chair to get dressed. Considering the chilly but temperate weather that came at the beginning of March, layers seemed to be the best option. This time he went with one of his black buttoned shirts and a thick knit grey sweater to pull over it. After a small internal debate, Dorian also settled on wearing black slacks again. Despite the tumble he took the day before, the pants he had worn had survived remarkably well, so the bespectacled teen figured he was safe.

Last to consider were his shoes. The loafers, unlike his trousers, were scuffed and caked with mud. They would require serious polishing if they were to be saved in any way. Dorian had considered them for a bit, before deciding to wear another pair entirely. He’d just bring a few back-ups in case something happened to the new set too.

Even though the route to Oreburgh was only a couple days, Dorian didn’t pack light. Granted, perhaps he had gotten a bit too zealous, as the bag that now hung from his straining shoulders was far too heavy to be feasibly hauled across the country, but at least he could be guaranteed a fresh change of clothes should he ever need to make a good impression.

It was only as he was leaving his room, luggage in hand, that he realized he forgot Nobu. Mentally smacking himself in the forehead, Dorian pivoted right back around and headed towards his nightstand. However, as he reached for the Piplup’s Pokeball, the teen lingered again.

Kai’s tie still sat undisturbed on his nightstand, the stark white fabric almost luminescent in the dim morning light.

There was no reason to hold on to it at this point, but there was still a niggling feeling in the back of Dorian’s head. Without any real justification for his decision, the dark-haired teen found his hand reaching out and snatching up both objects before putting them in his pants pocket. He then headed immediately down the stairs towards the front door. His mother stood in the entry way with some breakfast in the form of toast and fruit, but paired with lack of sleep, Dorian’s mood had been snippy at best and his appetite nonexistent. Suzu had wisely backed off, merely wishing him a warm farewell between requests for frequent updates before her son pulled on his jacket and was out the front door.

All the dark-haired teen needed to do was to hit up the Poké Mart before finally setting out to find Kai.

Yet now there were clowns in his way.

Here Dorian was, at the crack of dawn, engaging in some sort of weird pop quiz showdown with these middle-aged face-painted weirdos as some promotional gig put on by the famous Poketch Company of Jubilife City. Dorian had no idea this was something their Marketing department was doing, otherwise he would have had some very strong words against its execution.

“Does a Pokémon grow by defeating others and gaining experience points?” the clown inquired excitedly.

“As I mentioned earlier, I already have a Poketch because I work for the company. Thank you,” Dorian responded flatly, flashing his wrist at the costumed man to expose the bulky device.

The morning was already proving to be hassle, but this was more than he could take. Sure, in a way, the whole experience was picturesque. The new day was still soaking into the city streets, slowly warming the skyline with its patiently growing glow. Cobblestone roads not yet filled with the city population glistened with morning dew, hemmed by the dark, sleeping buildings of nearby apartments that were slowly catching the rays of light on their windowpanes.

The brisk spring air was finally bringing clarity to Dorian’s fuzzy brain, but now all he felt was irritation. He wondered if this was divine retribution for the poor handling of his spontaneous “vacation” in regards to communicating with Poketch’s higher executives, but figured there was no helping it now.

Just as the dark-haired teen intended on slipping past the clown-faced fool, an unexpected voice coming from behind the duo made him stiffen in alarm.

“You could have just answered yes, you know.”

Dorian immediately recognized the jeering lilt in that otherwise androgynous tone. Twisting around to confirm his suspicions, he braced himself further when his eyes fell on the form of his companion from the day before. Dressed in the same ratty-yet-colorful clothes, wearing that same insufferable smirk, with the same bulky satchel at her side, the redhead was hardly easy to forget. On her shoulder, Aiden the deaf Chimchar hung with one arm, the other scratching his head through a yawn.

“Kenna,” he acknowledged, polite yet wary.

“Dorian,” the redhead mocked in return, stepping closer to smile kindly at the clown. “You’ll have to excuse him – he’s still learning how to interact with others like a normal human being.”

The teen in reference frowned at the jibe. “I was being perfectly civil. You’re the one inserting yourself into our conversation.”

“Didn’t sound like much of a conversation to me,” Kenna goaded with a laugh, arms crossed.

Side-eying the clown, who seemed completely thrown by the conversation’s dynamics, Dorian breathed deeply and plastered on his own smile. “You’re right. My sincerest apologies. However, I have some shopping to do. So if you’ll excuse me…” He gave the slightest bow before skirting around the Poketch employee and heading for the sliding doors of the Mart.

The clown, Kenna, and Aiden watched him go with bemused expressions on their faces, before the costumed man turned to the remaining trainer.

“…Does a Pokémon grow by defeating others and gaining experience points?”

 

~`*`~

 

When Kenna finally joined him inside the Mart, Dorian wasn’t at all surprised when she made an immediate beeline for his position. Instead he opted to play aloof, cradling his shopping basket in one arm and his luggage in the hand of the other, and critically eyeing the loaded shelves in front of him in favor of acknowledging her approach.

“In need of some Escape Rope?” the redhead asked with a cocked head. Aiden, distracted by the new environment, quickly descended his trainer’s back in order to better investigate the products on the lower shelves of the Mart.

“Maybe.”

To be honest, Dorian didn’t exactly know what he was looking for. He’d never been inside a Poké Mart, save for the one time he had insisted on wandering in when he had wild dreams of becoming a Trainer. His mother had humored him then, letting him purchase a Pokeball with his allowance despite having no Trainer’s license or intention of using it. The ball was probably still lost in his closet somewhere.

Before, Dorian had been so overwhelmed by the selection that he couldn’t really remember anything beyond the bright florescent lights, sparkling floors, and the kind cashier at the register who had told him to never give up on reaching his goal. This time around, he’d taken in the wall of backpacks and books, the line of shelves dedicated to medicinal health, and the coolers stocked full of various beverages and food items that made him wonder just how much stuff he’d need for his trip.

So far, he’d managed to stock up on a few Potions, but that was about it.

Though they hadn’t parted on bad terms – if anything, it had been rather friendly – Dorian still felt strange about seeing Kenna again. He was used to having singular run-ins with strangers. It was an easy process: make small talk, share shallow stories to pass the time, and benefit from the resources and knowledge the other had in order to reach a mutual objective. As far as Dorian was concerned, he and Kenna had fulfilled their obligations to each other. There was no need to continue pretending that they were anything more than…well, past business partners.

More for show than out of actual need, Dorian took a few coils of rope and dropped them in his basket before pointedly walking away from Kenna towards the other end of the aisle, hoping she’d take the dismissal.

Unfortunately for him, she didn’t.

“What else do you plan on getting, hm?” the other trainer inquired lightly, skipping up from behind him with her arms clasped loosely behind her back. There was something in her tone that immediately set Dorian on edge.

“Why is it any of your concern?” he asked stiffly, glancing at her briefly from the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to his shopping. As he suspected, there was a knowing look in her eyes, a suggestive curl to her smile.

Kenna shrugged innocently, “Just wondering. You’ve got quite the journey ahead of you.”

“Not really,” Dorian shook his head, purposefully blasé. “I’ll only be gone a couple of days.”

“Really?” At this, the redhead looked genuinely shocked, stopping for a second before she resumed following behind the other teen at a more sedate pace. She cocked her head to the side, trying to read his profile’s expression. “I thought you were tracking down your brother?”

Dorian rolled his eyes at her persistence. Did she really think he’d shared everything with her yesterday? “He only just started his journey. If I’m lucky, he’ll be in Oreburgh for a few days before coming back to Jubilife. I’ll either meet him there, or on his way back. Simple.” He paused to pluck at the canned goods at the very end of the aisle before putting them back and moving on.

Kenna hummed and stroked her chin in thought, mindlessly following Dorian around the bend of yet another column of the shop. “If you’re lucky, huh. Why not just wait here?”

“Because I’m not usually very lucky when it comes to Kai. Look, I’ve got everything under control.” He managed to say it with such assuredness that his own shoulders seemed to relax in response. Still feigning disinterest in their conversation, he raised his eyes to the aisles around him in order to avoid eye contact.

“Of course you do,” the redhead nodded helpfully, coming up beside him. “So what are you getting?”

Dorian finally stopped trying to out-pace the redhead, and sharply pivoted on his heel to face her directly. Taking a deep breath, he leveled her with a calm gaze. “Listen, I appreciate all that you did for me yesterday. I…I learned a lot.” And boy was that an understatement. It had been so long since he’d had to deal with Pokémon; Dorian would have had a lot of trouble without the other trainer’s patient guidance yesterday, he wasn’t too proud to admit it. “But I promise you don’t have to check up on me. I can handle myself.”

“Oh you can, can you?” Kenna tested, folding her arms again with a cocked hip. That amused glint in her eye returned, almost challenging Dorian.

He nodded once, “Yes.”

“So you know all the basic necessities that every trainer should have,” she pressed further, leaning in to study his controlled expression, “Even for a couple days out.”

“Sure,” he replied, tone purposefully light and certain.

Kenna’s trademark smirk began to tug at the corner of her mouth. She took another step towards Dorian, bright eyes pinning him in place. “Food, supplies, and all that jazz?”

“Two days, maybe a day more. I’m sure I can manage.” He could feel his eyebrow twitching, threatening to break his otherwise calm features.

“Camping equipment, a map…”

Dorian sighed heavily in effort to maintain control. “It’s mostly common sense, isn’t it?”

“Sure.” She mimicked his response from earlier so perfectly it made Dorian pause for a second. This kid definitely knew how to get under his skin.

He took another long breath before responding, “I’ve got it.”

“Okay.” And, much to the dark-haired teen’s surprise, that was it. Kenna closed her piercing blue eyes, leaned back, and Dorian was given the space to breathe easy. The heat was off, and the redhead opened her eyes again with a kind smile. “I believe you. I guess Aiden and I will just leave you to it.”

“Thank you,” he tried not to let his shoulders sag in relief.

Kenna laughed lightly, waving goodbye as she turned to head back down the aisle. “Don’t mention it. See you.”

It was almost too easy, how quickly she let him off. But without further preamble, the Pokémon assistant twirled away, not missing a beat as she bent to pick up the roaming Chimchar at her feet. Aiden gripped at her mustard yellow hoodie and eyed him curiously from her shoulder as they walked back towards the front of the store. It was only once they were out of sight that Dorian finally relaxed. Now he could get back to business.

He adjusted his glasses and turned to the products lining the shelves with a flat look.

 _What business?_ he asked himself with a scowl.

By the time Dorian decided he was done, the basket was almost as heavy as his suitcase. He’d probably overdone it again, but his mother’s favorite saying had been ringing in his ears as he’d gone down every aisle: _better safe than sorry_. With that in mind, the dark-haired teen had picked up a few Trainer Tips magazines as well as several first aid kits, a couple thermal blankets, a head lamp, and a portable heater. Dorian was definitely done being sorry.

Right before he reached the checkout area, he caught sight of Kenna and Aiden, leaning casually against the counter with matching lazy smirks on their faces.

“Of course,” he groaned, dropping his grip on the basket and the duffle bag in submission.

If anything, Kenna’s grin grew even wider. “Did some intense shopping there, huh?”

“I just…” Dorian’s feet shuffled awkwardly, and he fought the embarrassed flush that threatened to rise to his cheeks, “wanted to cover my bases.”

Kenna and Aidan both stared down at the contents of the basket on the floor in silence long enough for Dorian to shift even more uncomfortably. “Trust me. You covered every base in existence.” Finally she leveled her eyes on him and gave the dark-haired teen a different kind of smile, one more forced in its effort to be kind. “You’re heading to Oreburgh, you said, right? How about we join you?”

“Oh come on, I’m not that bad,” Dorian snapped in defense, picking up the basket of supplies and holding it closer to him protectively.

“No, seriously!” Kenna waved her hands in front of her with a more honest and sheepish grin. “They say company makes the trip twice as fast, and I’m heading in that direction anyway, if I’m gonna be catching Professor Rowan in Eterna any time soon. It’d be a win-win!”

Dorian narrowed his eyes. “So you’re going to Eterna too?”

Kenna tilted her head in thought and looked purposefully in a different direction. “Did I forget to mention that?”

It wasn’t a very convincing act, but Dorian reluctantly let that part slide. Instead he scowled and asked pointedly, “How are you winning from this arrangement, exactly? Just getting the chance to patronize me further?”

“No, I meant what I said,” the redhead affirmed with a sure, genuine smile. “I like company, and you seem like you’d be a great traveling companion.”

The fact that the bespectacled teen couldn’t even tell if Kenna was lying made Dorian even more wary, as he stared at her sincere grin and bright blue eyes. He’d seen this starry-eyed look before, and wondered whether this girl was perhaps seeking more than just platonic interactions. But as much as he hated to admit it, Dorian didn’t know the first thing about being a trainer. Not anymore. He’d learned a lot from the day trip they had spent together traveling from Sandgem… Dorian exhaled. He’d just have to be on his guard.

“…Sure,” he grumbled.

Kenna, though Dorian would have sworn it wasn’t possible, brightened even more. “Awesome! Let’s get some proper supplies then!”

“Hey!”

“Not that yours aren’t proper! It’s just that—”

“Gah, fine! Just…fine.”

 

~`*`~

 

Again Dorian was experiencing some doubt over whether traveling with Kenna was a good idea.

The two left the Mart after giving the dark-haired teen’s duffel bag a complete overhaul. The piece of luggage in question had been sold in favor of a hiking backpack, much to Dorian’s disgruntlement. He also had to give up a few of his choicer outfits, Kenna’s firm assertion that “they’d never last the trip” and would just “weigh him down” drowning out his vanity. She’d made several faces when she noticed the number of ties he’d packed (“It’s good to have some options, okay?” “Don’t be an idiot.”), and nagged him for bringing too many clothes (“You said you’d only be gone a few days!” “It’s good for layering!”). The cashier promised to give them to the delivery service that stopped by and Dorian paid a pretty penny to have them transported to his home. Still, the boy managed to finagle his way into keeping some of his more durable clothing items, insisting that he couldn’t let his appearance completely fall to the wayside (“I _have_ a reputation, you know.” “I say again, don’t be an idiot.”). He figured he could restock in Oreburgh if need be.

He also walked away with a new camp set (his four-person may not have been necessary according to Kenna, but Dorian insisted a two-person tent was), a sleeping bag, some non-perishable goods, some food for Piplup – Kenna helped him find “the good stuff” over the cheaper brand, not that he could tell the difference beyond checking the price – and lastly, a Pokémon trainer belt, fully equipped with magnetic clips for Pokeballs. Kenna had bought it personally as a commemorative gift and a show of friendship, though Dorian suspected that it also acted as an apology for insulting his packing skills.

The sun was just beginning to reach over the tree line by the time the duo exited the city, warming their path and bathing the city behind them in a more blinding light. The heat on Dorian’s face made him feel more awake, the heft of the pack on his shoulders pressing the reality of the journey into his consciousness. He liked the sound of the gravel crunching under his feet, and the fresh air made him feel weightless. It was the first time since waking up to Kai’s disappearance that he felt in control.

He’d been down this part of the Route in the past, his childhood memories peppered with mini hiking trips and picnics near the little pond outside of Jubilife with his mother and his little brother. Those were the days when Kai revered him, hanging on to every word the older boy had to say, and copying his every move. There were even a handful of times Dorian had tried to teach Kai how to fish, though all but one of them resulted in accidentally falling into the water due to a clumsy misstep or something equally foolish. Right as Dorian had been on the verge of giving up on the whole deal, Kai had landed a rather lively Magikarp.

Though the fish wasn’t edible, the dark-haired teen could easily recall the look of accomplishment on the younger kid’s face and how proud Dorian had been.

Such thoughts were painful, so the bespectacled teen was quick to attempt some small talk. It didn’t take long for conversation to begin, as Dorian was coming to find that Kenna was a very natural and persistent talker. Like it was the day before, the redhead was filled with insightful information that made him wonder how she had become so knowledgeable in the first place. He didn’t pursue the subject, but remained wary of his new companion should she say or do anything worthy of his distrust. So far Kenna seemed completely harmless.

Except she was getting a bit obsessed with her Shinx.

“I think she’s on the verge of finally handling an electric attack!” the tomboy crowed excitedly after the last wild battle. As the morning bled into the afternoon, the number of Pokémon encounters seemed to be increasing. They’d even run into a couple enthusiastic trainers, though none of them had seen anybody who matched Kai’s description whenever Dorian asked. Thankfully, Kenna was more than eager to handle them in battle.

Kiddo walked away from the fallen Starly, blue fur sparking smugly from her victory, and took her place beside Kenna while the trainer showered her with praise. Aiden meanwhile had taken to the low-hanging trees, a pattern that developed during Kiddo’s extensive training periods. Every once in a while, the chimp would shoot an unimpressed glare down at them from his various perches, but otherwise paid them no mind.

Dorian looked on in befuddlement. “Shouldn’t she be able to use one by now? Kind of late, isn’t it?” His comment was met with Kiddo’s tiny ears flattening back on her head and baring her teeth, and the boy quickly coughed and averted his eyes.

“Next battle for sure,” Kenna announced firmly to the sky, making a determined fist. “She’s nearly there.” A few beats of silence followed, and Dorian turned back just in time to catch the redhead thoughtfully eying the Pokeball at his belt.

His eyes narrowed and he subconsciously took a defensive stance.  “No, I’m not losing another battle to you just so your cat can get stronger.”

 “I wasn’t thinking that!” Kenna denied hastily, shaking her head so quickly that it caused her tan beanie to slip partially off her hair. “I was actually just thinking about your Piplup. You haven’t let her out at all today. Kiddo’s been handling all the wild battles so far. I’m not complaining, but how do you expect her to get stronger without training her?”

The bespectacled teen huffed. _Jynxed it._

“I don’t need her to get stronger,” Dorian stated easily as he moved to brush past her. It was starting to get dark and he wanted to make as much progress down the path as possible. He’d shed his sweater earlier when the sun hung hotly overhead, but now the air was beginning to cool and he was missing it beneath his coat. “Nobu is just to make sure that I don’t get into any trouble while I’m finding Kai.”

One of the things that had originally swayed Dorian into accepting Kenna’s proposal was that it rendered Piplup unnecessary for this particular leg of the journey. It had been interesting and even fun to train Nobu a bit while walking Route 202, but Dorian knew it couldn’t last. Rather than get attached – or worse yet, have Nobu injured – while he was playing at being a trainer, the dark-haired teen would put off interacting with the Piplup for as long as possible.

Kenna sucked on her teeth with a displeased look in her eyes that matched the glare Kiddo was shooting the dark-haired teen’s back. “You’re gonna want to reconsider that,” she said evenly as Dorian continued to walk ahead. “We’re gonna be passing through a cave along this route. Kiddo can handle the Zubat we’ll probably encounter in there, but she won’t be a match for any Rock or Ground Pokémon, with or without an electric move. And Aiden won’t be any help either.”

This made Dorian stop, but he just set his jaw and avoided eye contact. He’d known about Oreburgh Gate when he had been planning his trip. “I guess we’ll just have to see then,” he muttered.

“Guess we will,” Kenna shot back easily, and she angled her way to the front of their little group, Kiddo dutifully keeping at her heels, and Aiden following from above.

The sky continued to darken as the sun dipped behind the wall of trees now behind them, and soon the Starly that Kiddo had been steadily shredding instead took to nesting in the darkness of the forest. In their place were the aforementioned Zubats, fluttering and squeaking beasts that kept the fine hair on the back of Dorian’s neck at constant attention. It was getting to the point in their journey where Dorian’s feet were starting to seriously ache, so he waited for the next battle Kenna found to claim a nearby rock in order to rest his throbbing soles. Thankfully, this pair of shoes seemed to be holding up a lot better than the ones from the other day, he noticed with satisfaction. The dark-haired teen quickly pulled them off and set them down on his right, then crossed one leg in order to better massage the arch of his foot.

To his surprise, Dorian was joined shortly by Aiden, who leapt down from an overhanging branch in order to sit quietly beside him. The little chimp seemed to be tuckered out from all the climbing he’d been doing that day, yawning into his tiny hands and snuggling up to Dorian’s jacket. The dark-haired teen sat uncomfortably with his arm partially raised, so as not to accidentally elbow the Pokémon while he settled against his side. Before long, the Chimchar seemed to doze off with a quiet murmur. As he looked down at Aiden’s slight body, Dorian could just make out the rise and fall of his narrow chest, the downy texture of his orange fur, the intricate colors of the flame of his tail. It was probably the closest he’d been to a Pokémon in a while, including Nobu. The sight made the teen smile unconsciously while he moved to slip his shoes back on.

While doing so, he turned his attention back to the match just as the Shinx pounced on a wild Zubat that made the mistake of hovering too close to the ground. The fight ended surprisingly quickly, as the bat’s fragile body couldn’t withstand Kiddo’s quick and powerful onslaught.

“YES!” Kenna cried as Kiddo’s fur flashed, signaling that her growth had increased once more. “Yes, ye—NO! Damn it!”

“What, what is it?” Dorian nearly fell off the boulder in his rush forward, unable to hide his concern. One foot was still missing a shoe, held threateningly in his hands in preparation to attack. Behind him, Aiden made a small noise of distress at having his pillow taken away so abruptly, and Dorian felt an unexpected pang of guilt.

“Gah, nothing,” Kenna grumped, looking down at her Pokedex with a dejected look. Kiddo, fur still sparking sporadically, crept forward with piteous eyes and her ears down in deference. “I just thought…but hey! You can handle a Bite attack now, that’s pretty cool, huh?”

The redhead knelt and offered the small kitten a gentle smile, reassuring the feline that she had done nothing wrong. Though still unsure, Kiddo’s worry was mollified, and she accepted the congratulatory scratch behind the ear. Kenna gave in to a sigh, but her smile never left her face.

"Don't scare me like that," Dorian scolded, placing his shoe against his chest. His heart was racing, and he took a deep, steadying breath.

Kenna winced sympathetically. "Sorry...sometimes I get too excited."

The dark-haired teen merely shook his head and used the following beats of silence to calm his pulse down. Above him was the glowing light of Aiden’s flickering flame tail, having taken to the trees once more, but beyond that everything was showing signs of encroaching darkness. Taking the stillness as a chance to observe his surroundings, Dorian finally understood the towering shadow that loomed before them. “That’s the cave?” Dorian asked, looking up at the mouth in the mountainside with a sense of trepidation.

Kenna followed his gaze and nodded firmly. “Yep, that’s Oreburgh Gate. Right on the other side is the city. Straight shot, should take about half a day to make it through.”

Dorian’s shoulders slumped. “Oh.” The trip seemed so much shorter in theory than it seemed to be in practice. _Though losing the frequent stops to train would probably have sped up the journey significantly_ , he thought with a glower in Kenna’s direction, which the redhead missed completely.

“Well, it’s about time we made camp,” she announced instead, clapping her hands together with an authoritative slap. “It’d be wiser to take it in the morning to get as much light in there as possible rather than trying during the night.”

The flare of irritation that had engulfed Dorian was immediately smothered by that reasoning. "Ah. Right." he agreed hesitantly. Traveling during the day was nerve-wracking enough; he didn’t want to push their luck trying to make their way through the darkness. On the other hand, he had never made camp before, which would be its own challenge.

However, without Dorian having to say anything, Kenna already began unpacking their bags. “Here, I’ll show you how to set up your tent!”

 _Better to have Kenna around_ , he decided, stepping forward to help.

 

~`*`~

 

They finally completed making camp just as the sky fully darkened around them. Dorian had been sent out to collect firewood while Kenna cleared their campground, fed the Pokémon, and messed with Dorian’s tent; when he’d returned with an armful of logs and twigs, the redhead then set about starting the fire for dinner. Dorian, back in his sweater, claimed a nearby boulder as a perch. Laying his jacket down as padding, he sat down to observe, quietly curious.

Kenna signaled to Aiden, and the chimp expanded his chest before a single flaming ball expelled from his mouth into the fire pit his trainer had constructed. Immediately the pile of wood was engulfed in flames, cracking and spitting clouds of smoke and flecks of embers into the cooling air. The redhead gave the Chimchar a thumbs-up before he retreated to her shoulder, curling around the back of her neck and snuggling into the hood of her sweatshirt. She laughed lightly at his antics before turning her attention to the silent teen.

“We’ll let the fire settle a bit before we begin cooking. Then, after we eat, we’ll call it a night and get an early start in the morning,” she shared brightly, leaving her bag by the fire and making her way over to Dorian in order to relax beside him.

“Sounds good,” Dorian nodded in agreement before taking a look at their small camp. He quickly realized something was missing. “Where’s your tent?”

Kenna looked at him in confusion. “Tent?”

“Yes. There’s only mine, and…” he trailed off as a horrifying thought came to mind. Kenna only ever traveled with her satchel. There was no way she’d have any camp gear in there. His was a two-person tent. _Surely she wasn’t planning…?_ “You’re not sleeping with me!” he announced loudly, scrambling his way off the boulder to glare accusingly at the redhead from a safe distance. “Look, you’ve been really nice offering to help me with everything, but I am not interested in you in that way and I would appreciate it…if you…”

He lost a bit of steam, watching as Kenna began laughing so hard she started to slide off the side of the rock, clutching at her sides and throwing her head back as if she was in pain. Aiden, disturbed by the movement, gave them both a sleepy glare before he crawled from Kenna’s hoodie and curled up instead on Dorian’s abandoned jacket. His trainer gave his back a brief pat of apology, but still the giggling persisted.

A sense of déjà vu crept on him, the feeling of dread shortly following.

“Okay, what’s so funny this time?” he asked warily.

The laughter petered off to manageable snickers, so Kenna wiped a tear from her eye before explaining in a high voice, “Oh man, where to start…”

She sat up, cleared her throat, slapped her cheeks and attempted to put on a serious face. “Okay.” Kenna coughed again before giving in to a quick bark of laughter. “Dude, I usually don’t bother with tents. It’s a lot to carry and I don’t generally want to deal with it. A rollaway pad and sleeping bag works fine in-between Pokémon Centers, or sometimes just a blanket with the nicer weather. I travel light, period. And,” she started chuckling again, “I promise you’re not my type. So, chill on that front.”

Dorian blinked, shoulders falling.

“Oh.”

Kenna snorted with a wide smile, “Yep. Anything else you want to panic about?”

Though he didn’t really want to mention it, there was. He hadn’t expected otherwise, but Dorian was still disappointed that they hadn’t seen Kai while on the trail. Now that only the Gate separated them from Oreburgh and they were settling in for the night, the dark-haired teen was starting to get anxious. He hoped his brother traveled during the daytime like most people instead of covering ground by night. Part of him wondered if they should keep a scout on alert just in case. Would Kenna let him use Kiddo as a watch cat?

He frowned and shook his head.

“Good. Now, it’s time for grub!”

Dorian stayed quiet during the whole process of cooking, silently obeying any orders his companion gave to facilitate the making of the meal before retreating to his rock again, claiming whatever part of his jacket that Aiden wasn’t using for his bed. There seemed to be no end to his embarrassment when it came to Kenna. The more he tried to assume about her, the more he got wrong. He was finally getting to the point where his brain felt numb, no longer able to dissect anything the redhead did or said. The teen pulled his knees to his chest and folded his arms across them with a tired huff. Moodily, his hand went to his pocket where Kai’s tie still resided, pulled it out, and began to fiddle with the fabric while he mused over his travel companion. If Kenna got the jump on him somewhere down the line, Dorian honestly felt she’d deserve it. It was too tiring to distrust her anymore.

“Here ya go.”

Before Dorian could really comprehend the words, a tin dish with some sort of soup was shoved under his nose and into his occupied hands. Startled, his immediate concern was to avoid spilling any of its contents into his lap or on the tie. Once that was taken care of, and the tie quickly placed on the rock beside him, Dorian looked up to see Kenna’s back-lit head looming over him with her usual smirk.

“Dinner’s ready, dude. Chow time.”

“Ah,” he mumbled as she settled on the ground with her back against his rock. “Right.”

There was a tin spoon already in the bowl, so Dorian grabbed it and took a bite without much thought.

He immediately spat it back out again.

“Ugh! What is _this_ supposed to be?” the dark-haired teen exclaimed in disgust, holding the bowl out towards the firelight in order to better see its contents. He couldn’t tell if it looked red because of the light or if that was the actual color of the food. There were lumps of what could have been meat, but could also be any number of things that didn’t do anything for Dorian’s appetite.

Kenna, having already eaten a few spoonfuls herself, spoke with a mouth half-full, “Curry, I think. Kinda watery, but the spices definitely help.”

“It tastes…” Dorian couldn’t suppress a shudder. Stabbing at the contents with a grumpy pout, he wondered how badly he’d suffer if he decided to go without supper. Then he wondered if all the packaged meals they’d eat on the trip would be this bad. At least lunch had been tolerable. It was hard to get sandwiches wrong.

“Don’t like it, don’t eat it,” Kenna said carelessly, slurping her portion loudly – almost in challenge. Dorian scowled at her behavior, before going back to staring at his dinner moodily.

He wasn’t able to sulk for too long though, because as soon as the redhead’s empty bowl clattered onto the ground beside her, Kenna looked up and said plainly, “I really think you should train Nobu tomorrow.”

 _Great, as if the night wasn’t bad enough_.

“What if I don’t want to?” he argued, scooping up a bit of the runny curry and sipping it. It didn’t taste too bad in small portions, but only time would tell if he could stomach it.

He could hear the heavy breath Kenna took before she rose to her feet, leaning against the rock’s surface and tilting her head back to better see the bespectacled teen. “If you want her to protect you like you say, it’s in her best interest to get stronger. Not all the Pokémon you’ll encounter will be like the ones we’ve seen so far.”

Dorian met her gaze steadily, watching with mild fascination how the fire made her icy eyes even brighter. His eyes shifted to the sleeping form of the Chimchar still beside him. The Pokémon looked so small in the dim lighting, peaceful and undisturbed by their conversation. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, and finally asked the question that had been prodding him since he’d met Kenna the day before.

“Why don’t you train Aiden?”

Kenna followed where Dorian was looking, and he half expected to receive another cold shoulder, just like the last time he’d suggested that she train the chimp. Even if Dorian didn’t get an answer, at least it would be the end of the conversation. Win-win, in his opinion. However, it seemed like Kenna was actually considering his question, turning her attention back to the dying embers with a deep furrow in her brow.

“Aiden…” she hesitated, shifted to get more comfortable, then took a slow breath. “Aiden and I met when I was just a kid, before I knew what it meant to be a Pokémon trainer. All I knew was that he was deaf, and that meant he couldn’t battle. I mean, how can your Pokémon respond to any commands if he can’t hear them? How can he defend himself if he doesn’t know that the opponent is coming?”

“There are other ways, aren’t there?” Dorian asked, genuinely curious. He gave up on his meal, setting it aside in order to better study the redhead’s face as she spoke.

Kenna shrugged, still staring at their campfire. He couldn’t tell if they just looked glassy in the light, but she was speaking quieter than she had been before, “Maybe. I honestly haven’t wanted to try. It’s not important if Aiden can’t fight, because I always have other Pokémon that can. He’s my friend first and foremost. And I’m a researcher first and foremost. I just want him out of harm’s way.”

Dorian didn’t know what to say to that. His reasons for keeping Nobu out of battle weren’t nearly as noble. Unknowingly, his hand drifted to his belt, where his single Pokeball was clipped securely to his waist. He looked down, surprised at the sudden sensation of cool metal at his fingertips.

Below him, Kenna cleared her throat, and Dorian looked down just in time to see her hand barely visible from inside her hoodie’s sleeve falling from her face, as if wiping away a tear. “Hey,” she said, and again Dorian could tell she was trying to keep her voice light even with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Her slight form seemed to bury itself further into her jacket, “How about a deal?”

“What kind of deal?” he asked, still absently thumbing the tiny sphere at his hip.

“I’ll take any Zubat we see in there with Kiddo,” she nodded towards the opening in the mountainside. “They tend to dominate caves anyway. But if any ground types come along, Nobu takes them. It’ll be easy training for her with her type advantage. There’s really no risk for her... Does that sound fair?”

Dorian froze, considering the proposition. In his silence, Kenna turned to look at him straight on. Her expression was calm, almost stony. By now the campfire was nearly extinguished, the dominant light source being that of the half-crescent mood hanging overhead. It casted their whole site in a ghostly glow, making everything seem quieter than it had been before.

He didn’t know why it bothered him so much. When Dorian had first come up with the idea to bring Kai his Pokedex, it didn’t seem so complicated. He’d never considered the possibility of having to train a Pokémon. All he wanted was to look out for his little brother, make sure he was safe. Instead he’d taken on a whole different host of responsibilities.

The dark-haired teen closed his eyes and lifted his face towards the starlit sky while thoughts warred in his brain. There were too many worries that he was carrying, all of them stemming from his fear of caring too much. Kenna didn’t have that problem. Kai didn’t either.

His brother’s white tie was still with him. He couldn’t say for sure, but it might have been that last thought that helped make up his mind. Taking a deep breath of the crisp night air, Dorian answered.

“It’s fair.”

~`*`~

 

The next morning, Dorian woke up with a giant cat in his face.

Sleep had come surprisingly easy to him the night prior though that could have been because of the sleeping pills he had taken as a safety measure. Going three days in a row without proper rest was just asking for trouble in his opinion, so again _better safe than sorry_. Arceus knows without them, Dorian probably would have been up half the night stressing about Kai and musing on his own shortcomings. He’d also had a hard time adjusting to sleeping on a flimsy foam mat rather than his own mattress at home, or dealing with a lack of running water to shower or brush his teeth properly. Dorian really wasn’t cut out for this whole nature thing. The sooner they reached civilization, the better. The sooner he found _Kai_ the better.

The pills were also probably why it took so much coaxing from Kenna to even rouse him from his dreams.

“Dorian…” a high sing-song voice called from the edge of his consciousness.

He groaned at the disruption, eyes unwillingly parting to stare blurrily at the dark blob hovering over his face. Annoyed, he mindlessly batted at it in hopes it would go away. When his hand registered the feeling of soft fur beneath his fingers, Dorian tried harder to focus on the blob. In the midst of the fuzzy sight above him, fierce yellow orbs glowed.

Alarmed, his eyes shot open, and not two inches from his face was the face of Kenna’s Shinx…if the Shinx had grown another foot, tripled her weight, and grown an intimidating, dark star-shaped mane.

“AHHH!” Dorian yelled, mindlessly crab-walking backwards out of his sleeping bag until he ran into the damp back wall of his tent. “What the hell?!”

Even without his glasses, from this angle he could better see that the would-be Shinx wasn’t as big as she looked up close, _thank Arceus._ Her body was actually being held up on her hind legs from behind by a fully-dressed Kenna, who had the feline’s yellow-banded front paws in each hand as she straddled his bedding. The Pokémon assistant was missing her ever-present beanie, so her wild bedhead – paired with her hovering behind the large cat with an even larger grin – painted a rather unsettling scene.

 “Look what I got,” the redhead said in a voice that was so jovial it sounded pained. “Meet the new Kid!”

The _new Kid_ didn’t look to be in the best mood, ears laid back and half-lidded eyes glaring at Dorian as if _he_ was the one holding her in such a position.

 “Why is it in my tent?” Dorian exclaimed, still half-hysterical.

At this, Kenna bent awkwardly to place the feline’s airborne paws on the ground, which caused the dark-haired teen’s eyes to widen even further, tracking every slight movement the Pokémon made. “Oh knock it off. You were taking forever to wake up so I decided to do some extra training just in case I could get her to learn an electric attack before we went into the Gate, and…tada!” She stood proudly, fists on her hips, as if waiting for praise. “I got a Luxio instead!”

The newly evolved cat meowed lowly in response, calmly sitting down and cleaning its front paw while pinning Dorian with that unwavering luminescent glare.

“Great,” he panted weakly, feeling his heart pounding heavily in his chest. “Congrats. Can we talk about this more later?”

Kenna pouted, seeming to deflate at the lack of encouragement her announcement received. “Sure… c’mon Kid.” Quietly the Luxio obeyed and the two exited the tent, leaving Dorian to collapse back on his bedding in a nerveless heap while he waited for his pulse to slow.

By the time he emerged in yesterday’s clothes and donned his spectacles, Dorian was feeling decidedly grumpy. Regardless of his morning wake-up call (which certainly didn’t start the day on a good note), his mood struggled to be pleasant. The fabric of his shirt and pants, though not noticeably dirty, still felt unclean against his sweat-dried skin. Paired with the fact that his hair was more than a little rumpled and his breath probably stank, Dorian more than ever longed for Oreburgh. Still, he stumbled his way over the renewed campfire, where he found Kenna – now wearing her beanie – crouched over her bag by the campfire, shuffling around its bulky insides while Aiden peeked over her should with curiosity.

Beside them, Kid stood by as a stoic look-out, and it was then that Dorian could really observe the changes that had overcome the Pokémon. Growing about a foot, the feline now came up to about mid-thigh. She now had darker blue fur, including the midnight mane that framed her larger face. It was the first time that Dorian had truly witnessed a Pokémon evolution, at least partially. He wondered how much the change affected Kiddo’s personality as well as her appearance. The Shinx version may not have been his biggest fan, but he hoped her evolved form had a kinder disposition.

The Luxio heard his footsteps first, licking her chops in an effortlessly intimidating manner as she spotted his approach. Prompted by the feline, Kenna smoothly tucked her bag to the side as she stood to greet him. Seeing his disgruntled expression and bedhead, the other trainer couldn’t smother a snigger.

“Here,” she offered through her chuckles, pulling an apple from behind her back and holding it out between them, “Figured it’d be better than the instant oatmeal, though it’s an option if you change your mind.”

Dorian gave a half-smile in thanks and shook his head as he accepted the fruit. “This is fine.” At the first bite, he hummed at the refreshing crisp taste, feeling his mood already beginning to lift. The noisy growl his stomach made reminded the dark-haired teen that he never did manage to finish his dinner the night before. “Thank you.”

“No worries,” Kenna grinned, revealing another apple hidden in the pocket of her mustard-colored hoodie and taking a healthy bite. As she chewed, Dorian peered suspiciously at the bag now being guarded by the Luxio, who stared back unflinchingly, as if daring him to try something.

 _Guess she’s still not my biggest fan¸_ he thought to himself with a small frown. Seeing this, Kenna swallowed and said, “Better eat and pack up quick. I wasn’t kidding when I said you took a while to wake up. It’ll be after noon by the time we get through the Gate.”

“Ah, right.”

The dark-haired teen chewed on a mouthful of fruit and turned away to instead observe the mountainside in question. In the light of day, it looked a lot less threatening than it had the night before. The easy incline towards the large, gaping mouth of the cave was clear and obviously well-traveled, which calmed Dorian’s nerves a bit – the amount of foot traffic this area received was a good sign. Movement in the trees above startled him, but upon looking up, Dorian saw it was just Aiden foraging for his own breakfast, plucking tiny berries from the higher branches and munching on them in his small palms. The innocence of the scene made Dorian smile, and he finished the rest of his meager breakfast in better spirits than when he first woke.

It didn’t take nearly as long to break down the campsite as it had setting it up. Once Dorian’s tent was safely packed away and the flames were smothered, they were on their way.

Before entering the cave, Kenna knelt down and gestured for Aidan to descend from his perch in the trees. The Pokemon obeyed stoically, and the two had a brief silent conversation. Then Kenna pulled Aidan’s ball from her belt, and returned him to his ball.

“What was that all about?” Dorian asked once the redhead rose to her feet.

“Aidan doesn’t like caves,” she answered quietly, snapping the ball into place at her waist. “It’s hard for him to see.”

Dorian’s brow furrowed. “Why does that…” then it clicked. “Oh.”

Kenna tried smiling her bright smile and readjusted the strap of her bag. “Anyway, your turn.”

“My turn?” he parroted, staring at her blankly.

“Nobu.” The redhead nodded to the belt at his hip with a pointed look. “Remember?”

Dorian balked for a beat, not sure what she was getting at. Sure, he had agreed to use the Piplup while traveling through the cave, but having her walk beside them? He wrinkled his brow imploringly at the other trainer, who looked back with small smile, as if knowing what was going on through his mind. Beside him, her Luxio yawned, tongue flexing.

“Now?” he tried.

Kenna shrugged and cocked her head to the side, “Why not?”

 _Why not…_ like it was that simple of a question. The dark-haired teen heaved a quiet sigh, fingers already tapping the device on his belt.

“…Okay.”

Not giving himself too much time to think about it, he unclipped the ball and tossed it to the ground, where it burst open with the usual bright flash. In seconds, Nobu emerged, shaking herself off and puffing up from her release. Blinking in the sunlight, she then took in her surroundings and turned to Dorian expectantly. Though he didn’t anticipate a particularly warm welcome, she still chirped a greeting at him. He offered an awkward smile before turning his attention to Kenna, who clapped her hands together with exaggerated cheer.

“Great! Guess we’re ready. C’mon Kid.”

~`*`~

 

They had only taken a few steps within the interior of Oreburgh Gate before they had their first encounter. Not with a Pokémon, though – instead the form of a heavily-laden hiker came into their view once their eyes adjusted to the dim light in the cave. The metallic clanking of the other traveler’s gear echoed off the stone walls, alerting them of the approach.

“Hey!” the burly man greeted jovially, stepping around a particularly large boulder and coming to a stop in front of them. He’d obviously come from the opposite direction, but looked no worse for the wear. It heartened Dorian a bit. Hopefully this leg of his excursion would be just as uneventful as the first.

Kenna was the one to return the greeting with a casual wave of her hand, “How’s it?”

“Not too bad,” the hiker paused to take a sip from his swinging canteen. “You’re heading to Oreburgh?”

“Yep. All clear?”

The hiker nodded his head during a deep swallow of his water. “No problems,” he exhaled, “it’s open the whole way. Lower levels are a different story, but if you’re just passing through it’s not something you’ll have to deal with.”

“Awesome! Yeah, we’re sticking with the upper area. We’re not really equipped to deal with any stray boulders regardless,” Kenna said with a light shrug.

“No kidding?” the hiker asked. His eyes continued to bounce between Kenna, Dorian, and the two Pokémon with them, as if sizing them up, “If it helps, you can always see the gym once you’re in Oreburgh. Rock Smash is definitely helpful in a pinch. You two trainers at least?”

The redhead raised her hand unnecessarily. “I am. He isn’t,” she finished, jabbing her thumb in Dorian’s direction. He gave her a flat look out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t contest it.

“Well, the route is clear. If you’re at all interested in exploring the basement, you’ll have to beat the gym in Oreburgh for that HM.”

Kenna grinned, “We’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the help.”

The hiker nodded and moved to leave, but Dorian hastily spoke up. “Before you go, I was wondering if you could help us with something else.”

“Oh? Like what?” the man paused, squinting at the dark-haired teen with genuine interest.

“You haven’t by chance seen a ten-year old boy on your way out of Oreburgh City would you? His name’s Kai. Black hair, dark blue eyes, glasses, about this tall?” Dorian indicated with his hand mid-chest height.

The hiker exhaled noisily through his nose, “Well, there’ve been a lot of ten year old boys, but none that match that description from my memory. Why do you ask?”

Dorian deflated. “Oh, just wondering,” the teen said with a small frown. “He’s my brother.”

“Ah.” This time the hiker smiled in understanding, “Kai, you said? In that case, if I run into him I’ll let him know you’re looking for him!”

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” Kenna said, giving Dorian a sympathetic look. The other teen purposefully avoided eye contact.

“Of course! We’re all human right? Anyway, gotta get going! Good luck to you.” The hiker readjusted his pack before giving them both a wave and heading out the way the duo came in, disappearing in the enveloping light until he couldn’t be seen anymore.

Dorian turned and watched his departure with no small amount confusion. “He was rather friendly,” he commented mildly before turning back to Kenna.

“You’ll meet a lot of people like that if you travel around long enough,” she answered with an easy grin. “Everyone knows what it’s like to struggle on the road, so everyone tries to help if they can.”

“Hm. Is that what you’re doing with me?” he asked, folding his arms with a cocked eyebrow.

Kenna grinned brightly.

“No comment.”

Dorian rolled his eyes and started walking, Nobu following only once Kenna and Kid did. “So what was he talking about anyway?” He asked, turning his body sideways to better see the redhead. “An HM? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s a Hidden Machine,” she answered distractedly, tugging at the sleeves of her hoodie and shivering slightly from the cooler air in the cave. “It’s a way of teaching Pokémon really strong and useful moves. They work differently in each region, but in Sinnoh it’s pretty straightforward. Once you beat a Pokémon Gym, the Gym Leader gives you an HM. It won’t work if you get it from someone else because you need a Gym’s password to access the disc. Once you have it, the HM can be inserted into a device like a Pokedex or a computer and you’ll be able to watch videos and read manuals on how to train your Pokémon to use these moves.”

The bespectacled teen nodded as he maneuvered his way around a lone boulder sticking up in their path. “Password protected, huh? That’s pretty extensive.”

On the other side of the boulder, Kenna shrugged. “Well, HMs are a bit more…dangerous than most moves. Not because the moves are especially powerful, but trying to train your Pokémon to use them can potentially cause them harm if done incorrectly.”

“What do you mean?” Dorian inquired, pausing in his walk to focus more on what the redhead was saying.

Noticing this, she stopped walking too, and gave him a curious look. “Well, do you know what TMs are?”

“Um…no. Not really.” He never had a reason to, having never trained a Pokémon, and it never came up in his line of work. Poketch technology focused more on raising Pokémon and incorporating their basic needs into an easily accessible form for everyday use. TMs, from what little Dorian knew, sounded like they were more for serious trainers.

Kenna nodded thoughtfully, and slowly began walking once more. “Okay, well Technical Machines are basically the same thing as Hidden Machines, with a few differences, but we’ll ignore a few of them for the purpose of this conversation. In essence, TMs involve manipulating a Pokémon’s existing power or natural abilities. It just teaches them to use it in a different way. Like, new ways of hitting something physically, or another form of their element. Sometimes a Pokémon doesn’t even need a TM to learn it; eventually they just can pick up on it on their own.”

“Okay, I think I follow…”

“Right, well, HMs are moves that take a lot of bodily strain on a Pokémon because they’re purely human-made. Rather than altering something that already exists, these moves rely on increasing their actual physical makeup. Rock Smash, for example; there’s no easy way for a Pokémon to learn that move, and it’s not one that any Pokémon can or would learn naturally. It’s the same with other HMs. Which is why a Gym Leader needs to give you permission to train a Pokémon to use it – trainers need to prove that they’re able to handle it safely.”

“Hm.” Dorian fell silent after that, trying to process everything he’d just learned.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand,” the redhead offered with a kind grin. “If it comes up later, I’ll show you. It’ll make a lot more sense after that.”

The other teen gave her a disbelieving look. “How do you know so much about these things anyway?”

“Call it a hobby,” she answered with the usual pointed smirk that was all about false innocence. Dorian exhaled, before turning back to the path ahead.

_There’s always something more to learn._

In this manner, the two continued on their way, stepping carefully around unstable areas that shifted under their weight.  As the hiker had promised, the trip was unexciting, marred only by the occasional skirmish with the local wildlife. Despite still not having an electric attack at this point, Kenna’s Luxio had no trouble warding off restless Zubats that insisted on harassing them, KO-ing them in a single hit. Kid walked proudly at the head of their group, recalled to Kenna’s side only when a rare Geodude rolled into their path.

Though Dorian was initially nervous, he realized rather quickly that Kenna had been completely correct the night before. Geodudes looked intimidating and had a tendency to be obstinate, especially when they were accidentally stepped on. Regardless, one Bubble attack later and the battles usually were over. After a few encounters, the small penguin started wearing a rather self-satisfied look on her face, and Dorian couldn’t help but mirror it.

“Nice job,” Kenna congratulated after yet another Geodude’s defeat.

Dorian gave a half-shrug, both he and Nobu feigning nonchalance. “Guess we had a good teacher.”

The redhead accepted the compliment by sticking her tongue out.

Their journey continued, trading off battles as the tunnel neared its end. There were branching passageways that shifted further and deeper into the mountain that caught Dorian’s attention, but he tried not to pay them too much mind. Briefly he wondered if his brother would feel tempted enough to explore the other shafts once he received his Badge and was able to use the Rock Smash move. If that was the case, he hoped the younger boy would be safe about it. Knowing Kai, he’d find some way to make things even more difficult for himself.

_Don’t think about it._

Dorian could already see the light at the end of the passage, and though it was no more than a few hours of travel, the dark-haired teen was already tired of the smell of mildew that seemed to permeate the chilled muggy air in the cave.

“Almost there,” Kenna said, nudging him in the side. When he turned to look at her, sunlight was already illuminating half her face, washing out the grin she was offering him. He couldn’t stop a smile of his own from pulling at his lips.

And yet, still there was a part of him that felt undeniably anxious. They still hadn’t seen anything of Kai, and they’d nearly completed their trip. If Kai _had_ insisted on traveling at night, or strayed off the beaten path…

 _No._ Dorian shook his head to rid himself of those kinds of thoughts. _If we didn’t see him, he must still be in the city._

Just a few minutes more and they finally emerged from the lip of the Gate, blinking uncomfortably from the sudden sensitivity to the light. It took a second for their eyes to adjust, but once they did, Dorian found himself standing on a slight hill surrounded by mountainous terrain overseeing multiple coal-dusted buildings and working mine shafts. In the background loomed the extensive stretch of protruding brownstone foothills belonging to Mt. Coronet.

They finally made it to Oreburgh City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I had to invent some ideas on how HMs and TMs work in reality. Whether or not they'll actually be used in this particular story is yet to be decided. We shall see.
> 
> But anyway! I don't have much to say about this chapter other than I'm really looking forward to writing the next ones. I was daydreaming about it all week while at work. Ugh I just want to write them already. Bleh.
> 
> Questions and comments are welcome!


	4. Beginner's Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roark grinned, straightening to regard Dorian directly. “I’ll tell you what I know. On one condition.”

**~`*`~**

**Chapter Four: Beginner’s Luck**

**~`*`~**

Oreburgh looked a little different than what Dorian anticipated, though he couldn’t really say why. He knew it was a mining development, cradled in the shallow recesses of Mt. Coronet and rich in natural resources. He was also aware that, while the number of inhabitants wasn’t as large as that of Jubilife, it was still a well-populated city. That didn’t explain why barely anyone was out and about despite it being nearly three in the afternoon.

Maybe it was the fact that even the air smelled like soot.

“You okay?” Kenna asked, side-eyeing the scrunched up look on Dorian’s face from beneath the fiery fringe of her bangs. On her other side, Kid sneezed loudly.

Dorian sympathized.

Still, the dark-haired teen nodded firmly in response, and made to lead their gradual descent into the city. What did it matter if Oreburgh wasn’t exactly picturesque? As long as Kai was down there, he’d gladly breathe through a handkerchief if need be.

So focused he was, he stopped paying attention to his footing.

“Whoa!” Dorian gasped as his shoes slipped on the loose gravel dusting the gentle incline. The teen went down hard, hands flailing for anything to stop his fall, but even Kenna – who made an attempt to grab for him – stood just barely out of reach. Instead, he landed solidly on his behind with a shout, catching his side on a small rock bordering the pathway, hardly noticing the audible rip that shortly followed over the shocks of pain lancing up his spine.

Before he could slide any further, Kenna’s hand was firmly gripping the underside of his upper arm, tugging him back towards the mouth of the cave. “Hold on, I got ya.”

“I’m fine,” Dorian gasped, mindlessly adjusting his glasses that got knocked loose from his little tumble. His heart was going a mile a minute, and the surprise was overriding his ability to take note of any injuries. “At least, I think I am.”

“I guess I asked too soon,” the redhead laughed, slowly pulling him upright in case anything was wrong. He followed Kenna’s guidance easily, dusting off his rumpled clothes and running his hands over his backside to probe the abused area for any further damage. Thankfully the rest of his body seemed to have been protected from the landing by his sizeable pack, but that did little to alleviate the throbbing near his tailbone. The dark-haired teen’s breathing started to normalize, but as his hands roamed over part of his sweater near his belt, Dorian groaned loudly in distress.

At the sound, Kenna’s worry came back immediately. “What, what’s wrong?” she demanded, leaning close to get a better look.

“Nothing, I just…” he sighed, and hesitantly twisted to show her. “I just ripped my sweater.” It was one of his favorites.

The redhead’s face immediately fell, and she dropped her hand from his arm. “Really,” she deadpanned.

“What?” Dorian asked indignantly.

With a roll of her eyes, she and Kid started down the hill, calling dryly over her shoulder, “Watch your step this time please. I don’t know what we’d do if your _tie_ was the next casualty.”

Dorian gave her retreating back an unimpressed look. “Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated.”

He then wordlessly recalled Nobu to her ball before tentatively following after his redheaded companion, carefully stepping down the path.

Upon entering the perimeter of Oreburgh, Dorian quickly noticed that no parts of the city’s walkways were truly paved. Instead, different colored gravel denoted what areas were designated for pedestrians and which were considered “off the beaten path” so to speak. Each step was met with a crunch and a tiny swirl of dirt that quickly adhered itself to the cuff of his trousers. After a while, Dorian gave up on swatting them clean.

The interior of the town was just as dry and dreary-looking as the elevated view had been, each building earth-toned to the point where they hardly stood out against the brownstone of Mt. Coronet. None were more than a couple stories tall, further undermining the grandeur of the architecture. The only building really worth noting was the Pokémon Gym, which had to be the largest complex in the city by quite a margin. Even so, it hardly drew much attention to itself with its low lighting and modest signage. Beyond that, there was an underlying quality to the air that reminded Dorian strongly of ash, and soon even his palms began to feel grimy. He had to resist the urge to wipe them clean on his pants.

Oreburgh wasn’t exactly the cleanest city in Sinnoh, it would seem.

Seeing Kenna and her Luxio waiting patiently for him outside the Pokémon Center, the dark-haired teen picked up the pace, kicking up small dust clouds in his wake.

“Arceus, what I wouldn’t do for a bath,” Dorian grumbled once they were in earshot, slapping his hands together to get any residual gravel knocked loose. “And to change into some clean clothes…”

Kenna raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Kid, who just flattened her ears wholly unamused. The redhead _had_ tried to tell the other teen to wear more travel-suited clothing before they left Jubilife, but Dorian hadn’t bothered to listen. With a sigh, she turned back to the bespectacled teen.

“The Pokémon Center should have some facilities you can use while we heal these guys up,” she assured him with a wry smile. “It’d be a good idea to try and reserve a couple beds while we’re at it. It’ll be harder to do once night falls anyway.”

“Really? You mean it’s like a hotel?” Dorian asked, looking at the red-roofed building with new eyes.

The other trainer hummed and headed towards the sliding glass doors. “Kinda. Probably not in the way that you’re thinking. C’mon, I’ll explain while we’re in there.”

 

~`*`~

 

As it turned out, Pokémon Centers did, in fact, offer services similar to that of a hotel.

There was the usual healing area for Pokémon, the lounge that acted as a waiting room, and the small computer lab area to the right for trainers to catch up on correspondence. To the left and up the escalator, however, was another level reserved for anyone looking for a place to spend the night. Room reservations were quite complicated, as far as Dorian was concerned. Any trainer could book a room for themselves for free, but the reservation had to be put in before 5:00pm of the day. After that time, it reverted to a “first come, first serve” basis. The reservation was only good for one night’s stay, with subsequent nights paid for upfront to extend the booking. There was a no return policy in place, which Dorian supposed made sense. A stay at the Center included a communal breakfast spread in the morning and a single bath token per trainer, though additional services required volunteering in some other way in exchange.

“Two beds as well, please,” Kenna requested after their Pokémon were all seen to. She leaned over the counter to smile charmingly at the pink-haired woman, causing Dorian to roll his eyes at the display. He couldn’t help but think the nurse looked suspiciously like the one that was stationed in Jubilife City, but regardless managed to keep his mouth shut.

The nurse smiled in kind. “Names?”

“Kenna and Dorian.”

The woman typed on her keyboard for a few seconds before looking imploringly at Kenna, “One night?”

Kenna looked over at Dorian, who raised his shoulders indifferently. The redhead glanced at her Poketch and hummed in thought. “One night will probably do for now, thank you.”

He expected the woman to request some form of ID, but after typing for a few minutes on her computer, she nodded at the two of them and slid a key card across the desk. “Okay,” she chirped, “One room, two twin beds for a night’s stay. Follow the hallway to your left and up the stairs. Baths will be at the end of the hall; they close at ten pm and open again at six am. And, in the morning, the complimentary breakfast is served from seven to ten. Any questions?” She looked up expectantly, hands laced primly on the countertop.

“Not about that,” Dorian said, stepping forward. “I was wondering if you can give me some information about another trainer.”

This got the woman’s attention, and not in a good way. Her eyes narrowed, and her smile became stiff and superficial. “No more than I can legally share with you, I’m afraid.”

“No, and I assure you it’s nothing like that,” Dorian was quick to promise. “I’m just wondering if my little brother is still in town. Kai Calder. He’s a new trainer who just turned ten. I have his Pokedex and I want to make sure he gets it.”

The nurse still looked a little suspicious, so the dark-haired teen swiftly pulled the device from the outside pocket of his backpack for her to see. He pushed the appropriate buttons like Kenna had shown him earlier, and the mechanical voice rattled off, “This Pokedex is registered to Pokémon Trainer Kaiten Calder of the city Jubilife, given by Professor Rowan of town Sandgem for the purpose of providing information for research and training. If lost or stolen, this device cannot be replaced.”

Finally, this was enough to win the woman’s confidence. Her face relaxed and her smile became a bit more sympathetic. “I see. Unfortunately I can’t help you too much. I do remember your brother; he was here, but won his Gym badge this morning. He didn’t reserve a bed, so I’m afraid to say it’s possible he took off earlier today. You might have better luck catching him in Jubilife City.”

Dorian’s face fell, shoulders slumping before he could stop himself. _Seriously? I’ve missed him again? How is that possible?_ They hadn’t crossed paths the whole trip. He had to still be in town. What other option was there?

He couldn’t form a response, merely standing in the nearly desolate lobby as numbness took over his mind.

“Thank you again for your help,” he heard a voice say, but it wasn’t his own. Beside him, Kenna placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and pinned the pink-haired nurse with that damn smile. “We really appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll have better luck tomorrow.”

“Of course,” the woman nodded with more kindness than she had initially exhibited. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“I think we’re good for now,” Kenna answered, offering another quick grin and a wink as she shot her free hand forward to grab the room keys. After handing one to Dorian, she thanked the nurse and steered him in the direction of the dorms.

The bespectacled teen was still silent, only succeeding in moving due to the redhead’s encouragement. Sure, it had been a long shot to find Kai, but he never really considered the possibility that he’d fail. Everything had made sense on paper: Can’t find Kai on the trail? Find him in the city. Can’t find Kai in the city? Find Kai on the trail. He hadn’t actively avoided Dorian, had he? The boy had no idea what Dorian was even trying to do.

At this point, neither did Dorian.

“Don’t give up,” Kenna muttered in his ear, tightening her arm around his shoulders. “There are still some places we can check out. The Gym, for one. They might know where he planned to go next. Maybe even the Route towards Hearthome. He could have gone that way. It would explain why we haven’t run into him yet.”

 _Yes_ , Dorian nodded hesitantly, and the muscles in his body slowly began to loosen up. He had considered that. It would be harder, but just the existence of the possibility made it easier to breathe. At least in that scenario Kai wasn’t trying to hide from him.

Only after they reached the second floor did Dorian remember the state of his clothes. “Do you think they have any laundry services?” he asked the redhead in concern.

Kenna chuckled kindly and patted him on the back. “Of course they do,” she answered in a sweet voice. Then her face took on that devilish expression he hated. “How do you feel about helping the Chansey cook in the kitchens in trade?”

His eyes narrowed in response before he slipped out from underneath her arm, picking up his pace to avoid answering her jibe.

“C’mon!” she continued from behind him with a short bark of laugher. “Tit for tat! Or should I say spuds for suds?”

“I’m taking a bath first,” Dorian announced loudly, opening the door to their dorm and shutting it firmly in Kenna’s stupid, grinning face.

 

~`*`~

 

The complimentary bath soaps and hair products were less than satisfactory. It took about an hour for Dorian to feel clean, though missing his personal products dearly. Once he finished bathing, it was the redhead’s turn to wash up while Dorian changed into fresh clothes and took stock of their temporary living space. The bedroom was rather small, bland, and sparsely furnished, with each side lined with a pair of bunkbeds so that four could sleep to a room. At the base of each bed was a little locker in which the trainers could store their valuables without having to worry about theft. Opposite of the door was an even smaller bathroom with a single toilet, a sink, and a mirror.

Seeing Kenna’s bulky satchel bundled neatly on the top bunk on the right of the room, Dorian chose to claim the one below, just in case the other two beds were taken by other trainers in their absence. He placed his own pack down on the cot, sat down beside it, and instantly groaned in displeasure. The mattress was so thin he could feel the springs stabbing through the fabric. It was a toss-up as to which would be more uncomfortable – sleeping outside in the tent, or on this sad excuse of a bed. Even the sheets and bedspread were scratchy.

 _Such is the life of a trainer, I guess_ , Dorian sulked to himself. He’d ultimately decided to toss the ripped sweater, leaving him just in his button up and pea coat. There was no way to save it, but the loss hurt him. He wondered if Kai had a hard time adjusting. _Probably not, the brat._ The boy had always seen some appeal in roughing it. Probably from all his time glorifying stories about traveling Pokémon champions…

Kenna washed much quicker than Dorian, returning to the room not long after she left, but there was perhaps only an hour’s worth of daylight left in the city by the mountain by the time they’d eaten and were ready to leave the Center. The sun had already fallen in-between two of the smaller peaks bracketing the immense Mt. Coronet as they stepped out onto the path, casting Oreburgh in a dusty amber glow. Aiden had rejoined the group in place of Kid, which seemed to please the chimp as he settled in on his trainer’s shoulder.

“Where to first?” Dorian asked Kenna, feeling just a little apprehensive.

The redhead eyed the sky for a bit before nodding in the direction of the path that led north of the city. “Route 207. It’ll be quicker and, at this time of day, the gym is probably closed.”

“How do you know that?” he asked with a frown.

Kenna smiled wryly, running a hand through her still slightly damp hair. She had left her beanie off to let it air-dry. “I may be from Johto, but most gyms are the same. Gym leaders are deeply involved in their assigned cities, which mean they can’t just hang around waiting for trainers to challenge them. You either have to schedule a match or catch them during their Gym hours, which generally are from, like, late morning to early afternoon. Outside that time, they’re elsewhere doing whatever they need to for the good of the city. So I don’t really _know_ , but call it a hunch.”

“Oh.” The dark-haired teen considered that for a moment, following after the assistant in silence. There was a lot more that went into the League system that he realized. Growing up, the only thing taught about Gym Leaders was that they were the key to getting qualified for consideration by the Elite Four. After a time Dorian asked, “So where would the Gym leader go after hours for Oreburgh? Maybe we can find them when we’re done.”

Glancing at the teen from over her shoulder, Kenna gave a shrug. “Well…probably the mines. We’ll check. The Gym isn’t too far from the city border, so we’ll be nearby regardless. We can stop in and see if the mines don’t turn anything up.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the edge of Oreburgh, but even before they had reached the Route entrance, the two teens spotted several bright light fixtures casting the craggy mountainside in sharp relief against the darkening skyline. As they got closer, they also noticed reflective road blocks outlining the path leading up the dirt trail where the Route would merge with the looming bike path overhead. A group of people, some in uniform, some obviously trainers, had already gathered nearby deep in conversation.

“What’s going on? Road work?” Dorian mused out loud, looking to Kenna for confirmation only to find her wearing an unusually serious look on her face. Wordlessly, she pushed forward, closely followed by the other teen.

The two caught up to the crowd just in time for one of the uniformed individuals to step forward and make an announcement. She was rather young, perhaps mid-twenties, with shoulder-length teal blue hair kept back by the officer cap resting smartly on her head.

“Everyone please stand back!” the cop declared, spreading her white-gloved hands wide to further express her point. “The area up ahead experienced a rock slide a few hours ago and is highly unstable! Anyone looking to take Route 207 to get to Eterna or Hearthome will have to either wait for the investigation to be complete or go the northern route from Jubilife. Again, this area is unstable! Please keep your distance as we attempt to secure the mountainside! Your cooperation is appreciated. Only those with proper equipment and authorized identification will be permitted to pass.”

There was a rumble of dissatisfaction from the masses as trainers began tossing clarification questions the woman’s way. She and several more policemen engaged with the crowd to try and field the various inquiries, resulting in many trainers turning back towards Oreburgh with displeased expressions on their face.

“This is the third one this month!” one surly looking teenager grumbled to his friend as they passed. "What’s causing all the problems up there?”

“You’d think a mountain town would figure out how to handle a mountain,” the other agreed before they were completely out of earshot.

Dorian processed this information, already feeling his panic mounting.

“A few hours ago?” the teen repeated blankly. _What if Kai came this way earlier and…_ “I need to talk to her,” he announced in a firm voice, shoving himself through the group of trainers much to their loud indignation. Behind him, Kenna yelled his name and made to grab his shoulder, but Dorian twisted just enough to escape. A few sharp elbows and muttered apologies later, the bespectacled teen was standing at the front of the assemblage still trying to grab the attention of the officers for discussion.

“Excuse me!” he joined over the noise of voices, dipping to try and catch the blue-haired policewoman’s roving eye. “Excuse me, my name is Dorian Calder, I need permission to pass please!”

The cop ignored him, too busy speaking to another trainer who also seemed to be getting worked up about the blockade.

“Dorian!” Kenna called from behind, shoving her own way through in order to reach him. One particular person in the crowd didn’t appreciate her efforts, and knocked her back. The force nearly dislodged Aiden from her shoulder, which quickly sent the redhead into a spitting rage towards her other trainer. “Oi!”

But Dorian ignored the commotion; his patience was wearing out. Desperately, the dark-haired teen reached out and grabbed at the police officer’s forearm. “Ma’am, please!”

That got her attention.

“Get your hands off!” the blue-haired woman snarled, rounding on him and aggressively stepping into his personal space. “I don’t care who you are or your reasoning. Don’t presume to manhandle an officer of the law in order to get your way!”

“My mistake,” he hastily apologized, immediately raising his hands in placation. By this point, Kenna and Aiden made it to his side, looking more than a little annoyed. Dorian still paid them no mind. “My brother may have gone this way earlier before the rock slide, and he may be in trouble. I have to find him, and I would greatly appreciate—”

“Like I said, only those with authorization are allowed past this point,” she cut him off firmly. “Now—”

“You don’t understand,” Dorian tried again. “My last name is Calder, of the Poketch Company, and—”

The woman cut him off again. “Do you have any badges?”

Dorian blinked. “Um. No, I’m just—”

“Do you have any mountain gear?”

“No, but—”

“Do you have any connection to a mountain specialist or guide?”

“Well, I could—”

“The answer is no,” the woman finished for him. “Neither the Pokémon League nor the Oreburgh Police Department are willing to be liable for your safety by letting you pass without any means of protecting yourself. If your brother is on the mountain, he will be found, as we are conducting a thorough investigation of this occurrence. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please vacate the area immediately.”

Dorian gaped at her. She had completely railroaded him, something that very rarely happened. There was a gaping hole in his chest that he could feel beginning to enflame.

“C’mon Dor,” his companion muttered, a harsh grip on his shoulder steering him away before he could say anything else. Dorian allowed himself to be led into a nearby clearing, silently fuming the whole way. _How dare that woman, the nerve of her, doesn’t she know who I am…_

 The bespectacled teen continued to stew, hardly looking up at the redheaded researcher who was too busy digging through her bag to actually engage in conversation anyway. While she searched, Aiden dropped from her shoulder to stand quietly at Dorian’s feet. A few beats later, and Kenna removed her hand from the satchel, thin metal case in her grip.

“Okay, wait here with Aiden and I’ll be right back,” the redhead threw offhandedly over her shoulder as she wound her way through the assembly back to the lady officer standing guard at the Route entrance.

Dorian narrowed his eyes, folded his arms across his chest with a harrumph, and carefully watched the interaction between the two. He had entirely anticipated the woman to be just as hostile towards the redhead as she had been towards him. However, as he continued to look on, the officer began to loosen up – her posture became less stiff, her face less imposing. It looked like Kenna was successfully keeping the other in playful banter, judging from the laughter overtaking the two. Just as Dorian was beginning to suspect that the redhead’s intention was less than innocent, Kenna was gestured through the blockade with a friendly wave and a flirtatious wink, leaving the dark-haired teen absolutely dumbfounded. His scowl deepened, and he turned his back, adamant on not seeing the injustice continue. Dorian’s attention quickly met with the pitying stare of Aiden at his knee, which was almost just as bad.

Nearly fifteen minutes later Kenna deigned it acceptable to rejoin her companions. Dorian greeted her coldly. “What was that, exactly?”

Kenna raised an eyebrow at his attitude and responded calmly, “What was what?”

“That!” He waved a furious arm in the direction of the lady guard, who was still eying them from a distance. A cheeky grin could be seen on the officer’s face. “How did you convince her to let you through? She wouldn’t even give me a second to explain who I was!”

“Of course she didn’t,” Kenna frowned, her voice taking on a serious tone. “You don’t have any gym badges.”

Dorian threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “What do gym badges have to do with anything?”

“Everything!” Kenna snapped, and it was the first time that Dorian had ever seen Kenna truly lose her temper at him. “You didn’t think they were just for show, did you?” When Dorian refused to answer, she took a moment before continuing in a lower tone. “Look, I get that you’re from a prestigious family, but that means very little when you’re on the road. What matters is whether or not you can fend for yourself, and badges are proof that you can handle dangerous situations. I would have thought the Academy would teach you that. You’d be hard-pressed to find any successful trainer without at least one badge to their name.”

That made Dorian pause. He pulled his head back and regarded Kenna warily. “Do you have badges?”

“Of course,” the redhead scoffed with an impressive eye-roll. “I said I was from Johto, didn’t I? Before I became Professor Elm’s assistant, I took on the Pokémon Challenge there. Made it about halfway through before I called it quits.”

Dorian didn’t know what to think about this new information. He bit his lip in quiet deliberation before he asked, “Why?”

“Just got bored,” Kenna said with a careless wave of her hand. Squatting down, she signed a quick message to a concerned-looking Aiden. “I’m not really the competitive type. I realized I was more interested in studying Pokémon, not fighting with them. After running a few errands for Elm, I just got hooked. Been working for him ever since.”

“Oh.” The teen shifted his feet, feeling even more uncomfortable.

“Yeah, oh,” the redhead mocked up at him, though the hard look in her eyes was beginning to dissipate into a more teasing glint. Aiden quietly resumed his position on her back, and Kenna rose again to a standing position. “But regardless of all that, the cop just told me a little more of what’s going on. Sounds like something fishy is happening in Mt. Coronet, but no one has been able to turn up any evidence. These rock slides have been happening more frequently recently. And to answer your earlier question, Roark, the Gym Leader of Oreburgh, is up there trying to help out. She said he’ll be back early tomorrow morning at the mine though. We can stop by then to ask him if he knows anything about Kai.”

Dorian took a second to let everything sink, allowing his earlier rage and anxiety to slowly escape his body. Kenna took the opportunity to start their journey back in the direction of the Pokémon Center, with the boy wordlessly following after her. They walked in silence, Kenna signing with Aiden while Dorian brooded in their wake. After a time, he increased the length of his steps until again the two were side-by-side.

“…Thank you again,” he said at last, voice quiet and eyes downcast.

Kenna ran a hand through her drying hair, still focused on the path in front of them. “Don’t mention it.”

“No, really,” Dorian shook his head. He was feeling distressed and more than a little confused. “Ever since we met, you’ve been helping me out. I can’t figure out why you would bother, but…I wouldn’t have gotten here this quickly or easily without you. So thank you.”

At this, the redhead gave him a sideways look. “Are you suspicious?” she asked with a crooked grin.

“A little,” he admitted easily. “More than a little, actually. But…not distrustful. You seem like a good person, regardless of your reasons.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” Kenna teased in a singsong voice, sticking out her tongue and making Dorian bristle in embarrassment.

“How is that any way to accept a compliment?”

“Aww Dorian, you’re too sweet, but you’re not my type!”

“That’s not how I meant it and you know it!”

 

~`*`~

 

The next morning was rough. Despite having spent the previous night with nothing more than a thin foam pad and a sleeping bag separating him from the uneven ground, Dorian couldn’t get a wink of sleep on the poor excuse of a mattress provided by the Pokémon Center. His brain buzzed with the events of the day to the point where he constantly had to talk himself down from a panicked frenzy. The same could not be said for Kenna, who snored loudly through the night and woke looking bright and fresh-eyed as the early morning light loomed over the horizon. Though Dorian was certainly eager to pick up Kai’s trail before it went cold, the redhead still beat him in completing their morning routine. She offered to wait for him in the Center’s lobby rather than taking up space in their small dormitory room, which Dorian appreciated. He didn’t have many opportunities for privacy with a travel companion.

It was maybe half an hour later that the dark-haired teen felt presentable in his last pair of clean slacks and a dark button-up that wasn’t smudged with some form of dirt. Dorian threw on his jacket and finally emerged to make his way down the stairs to the front of the building. Part of him wondered if it was worthwhile to grab food before leaving the Center, but the crappy night seemed to have stolen the teen’s appetite. Instead, his grey eyes scanned the area for that eyesore of a yellow hoodie, which was surprisingly harder than Dorian would have thought. It appeared that trainers either went with camouflaged clothes or ones in bright, almost neon colors. There was no in-between.

After a few minutes, though, he found the assistant sprawled lazily on a couch with a couple other trainers. The group was busy swapping stories, and it was clearly Kenna’s turn as the redhead was gesticulating wildly while the others watched on with rapt attention. One girl in particular threw her head back, laughing at a joke that Kenna had obviously just cracked, and placed her hand on the redhead’s knee. Even from a distance, Dorian could see the smirk on Kenna’s lips. The unknown girl had just started sliding closer on the cushion, mouth open in preparation while eyes glinted with something more than amusement, when Dorian made his approach. He cleared his throat pointedly.

“Hey, it’s about time,” Kenna chuckled in response, tilting her head to look up at him before shifting her eyes back to her companion. She clearly hadn’t been startled by his appearance, though the other girl seemed put-out by Dorian’s arrival.

He folded his arms grumpily. “Give me a break, it’s early. I didn’t take that long.”

“Please. You’re more of a girl than I am.”

Dorian stiffened, but Kenna ignored the reaction as she languidly rose from the sofa. She leaned back down to whisper something in the girl’s ear that elicited a light blush and giggle. When the redhead pulled away, there was a slip of paper captured firmly in her grasp. She turned back to Dorian casually and slipped her hands in her pocket.

“Want to head out?” Kenna asked, cocking her head to the side innocently as she slowly headed towards the sliding glass doors. Dorian’s eyes darted suspiciously between her retreating back and the still tittering woman on the couch.

“Did you just get her number?” he asked as they stepped out into the daylight, eyes narrowed as he observed the other trainer. The people of Sinnoh hardly bothered with phones, given that the mountainous terrain always seemed to allow for spotty cell service. It was easiest to contact people through email, as everyone had access to the internet. But occasionally trainers from other regions would insist on carrying their cellphones during their travels, regardless of how rarely they worked.

“Maybe,” she grinned in that predatory fashion that made Dorian scoff. “Jealous?”

He harrumphed, glaring off to the side to avoid the leer Kenna was sending his way. “Hardly. I just find it to be an unnecessary distraction.”

The redhead just laughed, and the mood immediately shifted into one more lighthearted. “C’mon grumpy,” she teased, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him along. “Let’s head to the mine to see if Roark is in yet.”

Thrown, Dorian relented and allowed her to drag him down the southern part of town.

The path descended gradually down the hillside, the air becoming thicker with the smell of exhaust the farther they went. Low-level houses progressively disappeared until they were all replaced with arching mine shafts and silt piles. More and more workers in hard hats started to appear alongside hardy Machops and even tougher-looking Machokes, all covered in sweat, grime, and soot. The sound of construction was almost deafening.

Dorian wrinkled his nose.

Kenna on the other hand seemed completely unaffected by the general noise and company, instead peering around the area before she found what she was looking for. She gestured further down the path, and Dorian looked over to find the darkened cave that had to be the mine entrance. It was surprisingly easy to miss, just a gentle sloping walkway that led to a shadowed stairway made of packed dirt. The sight was less than welcoming, but Dorian did his best to steel himself.

Wordlessly, he followed Kenna down the trail until the earth swallowed them whole.

The workers inside the tunnel were even louder, their combined pick-axing echoing off the rocky walls. Combined with the continuous grind of the conveyor belts carrying ore out of various holes in the mountainside, Dorian was surprised to have any hearing left at all. He hoped they could make this venture quick, as already the stifling muggy air and unending noise was getting on his nerves. A few of the men gave them curious glances, but otherwise no one bothered to engage with them. Dorian opted to ignore the bunch, while Kenna offered smiles to some out of reflex.

Eventually, the stairs leading even further into the cave leveled out, and they reached the heart of the mine. The air wasn’t nearly as muggy as Dorian feared, for numerous vents funneled down into the craggy walls of the cavern. The overhead lights, however, were especially dim now that they were away from the entrance to the shaft, and the miners seemed even more haggard and intimidating. One in particular was leering belligerently as they passed, which immediately set Dorian on edge. Kenna, however, had no such reservations.

“Hey!” she started cheerfully, stepping forward after meeting his unfriendly gaze. “We’re looking for Roark. Is he in the area?”

The man looked the redhead up and down before giving a mocking snort. “Maybe. Who wants to know?”

“Clearly we do,” Dorian answered with a scowl. He didn’t appreciate the attitude the man was directing towards Kenna, so he, too, strode to meet the worker. The teen matched his glare unflinchingly while the redhead stood by with a nonplussed look on her face. “It would be in your best interest to help us out.”

The other man hardly appeared intimidated.

“Is that so?” He sneered imperiously down at Dorian. “You know what? It just so happens that I snuck my Pokémon in to work today.”

His hand strayed to his belt, where indeed a single Pokeball rested at his hip. With another smirk at Dorian, the worker casually unclipped the ball and hit the button that enlarged it in his palm.

Dorian gritted his teeth at the display. Sure, he’d had a couple run-ins with fellow trainers during his travels with Kenna – he’d even won a couple of them – but they had all been fairly friendly, and all had been with younger trainers. He had yet to try his hand at challenging an older and far less pleasant individual.

Before the teen could make a decision on how to proceed, the man released his Pokémon. In the darkness of the mine, the flash was distinctly blinding. Dorian and Kenna both stumbled back in an attempt to protect their eyes from the light. Once the release faded and their eyes readjusted to the dim surroundings, they could make out the bulky form of a particularly grumpy-looking Geodude.

“Dude!” it grunted, flexing its stony arms menacingly.

At this display, Dorian couldn’t hold back a grin of his own.

Exchanging an amused glance with Kenna, Dorian snatched Nobu’s ball from his belt and released it to its usual size.

“Big mistake,” the dark-haired teen announced, and threw the ball in front of him.

Dorian squinted through the explosion of light, still maintaining his smile as the Piplup came onto the scene.

“Pip!” Nobu exclaimed confidently, sizing up the enemy before her. Though the Geodude was notably larger than the ones encountered in the Gate, a Rock-type would forever fall before a Water-type.

Pointing a finger at the Geodude, Dorian gave the order. “Bubble!”

Nobu immediately released a stream of glistening spheres at the other Pokémon, which burst on impact with the Geodude’s rough exterior. There was no hope in fighting back. In seconds, the battle was done, and the rock Pokémon had collapsed on its side in defeat.

Dorian recalled Nobu quickly before turning his eyes back to the worker, fully expecting the man to be in a fit of rage. Violence was certainly not his strong suit, but the teen wasn’t about to bow before a sore loser just to avoid getting punched in the face. However, Dorian was surprised to find the man had one hand on his hip and was rubbing his face with the other in bewilderment.

“Well, how about that,” he grunted out with what could almost be considered respect. “You really are something.”

Then, a smile far kinder than any previously given pulled at the worker’s lips as he recalled his beaten Pokémon. The hulking mass of a man lumbered forward, one meaty hand extended in front of him. “My name’s Mason.”

Dorian looked at the dirty, roughed up palm with trepidation. Still, he slowly reached forward to accept the handshake. “Dorian.”

The man pumped his arm once before releasing it to put both hands at his own waist. “If you want to find Roark, he’s just around the bend from here.” He gestured with a careless wave of his arm, still eyeing both teens with consideration.

“Not anymore he isn’t!”

A new voice entered the conversation from behind Mason. Startled, the three of them shifted their focus to the figure now walking towards them. In the dim lighting, it was difficult to make out any distinguishable features, but Dorian could sense a change at the new arrival. Mason immediately straightened his back, and even Kenna’s face morphed into a look of seriousness. Once the stranger was in sight, the dark-haired teen was surprised to find the young man standing before them could have been Kenna’s twin at first glance. He had red hair a few shades darker and several inches longer, and eyes to match glinting from behind his spectacles. The reflective mining clothes he wore were clearly made specifically for him as they differed from Mason’s and the other workers they’d seen, but the fabric was just as dirty. Roark wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his gloved hand, and looked at them all in turn.

Once his eyes settled on the mine worker, he frowned.

“Mason, you know better than to bring your Pokémon into the mine during your shift,” the Gym leader scolded in disapproval. “After the last incident we need to be careful not to disturb the tunnels any more than necessary.”

The larger man seemed to shrink at the gentle reprimand. “Sorry about that Roark. Won’t happen again.” He tipped his hard hat and shuffled off back to the cavern wall he had been working, leaving the group to their conversation.

Roark turned his attention to the duo with a rueful expression. “I apologize if he gave you any trouble. I’m the safety supervisor for the mine most days, but I can’t catch everything. Trainer battles normally wouldn’t be a problem in here, but we recently had some issues with the local wildlife being disturbed by our mining practices, so we’ve been taking extra precautions. Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t come down here for that. You’re looking to schedule a gym match, correct?”

His eyes shifted between the two of them with interest, sizing them up for a potential challenge.

Immediately Dorian shut it down. “We’re actually here to ask about a previous opponent you had. My little brother, Kai? He got his badge yesterday from you. We were hoping you’d tell us if he mentioned his plans after leaving Oreburgh. Do you know anything?”

Roark eyes lit up at the information, but he made no immediate comments. Instead he nodded thoughtfully, still eyeing the teen with serious consideration.

“You’re the one with the Piplup, right?” the gym leader eventually spoke, darting a look at the ball at Dorian’s belt.

The dark-haired teen blinked. “Um. Yes?” he shot a confused glance at Kenna, but she was still observing with an unreadable expression on her face.

Roark grinned, straightening to regard Dorian directly. “I’ll tell you what I know. On one condition.”

“And what might that be?” Dorian asked warily. Again, thoughts of extortion flashed through his mind. It was entirely possible that Kai had let their last name slip, but it shouldn’t have mattered when it came to the Pokémon League. Surely a Gym Leader wouldn’t be seeking out a monetary bribe?

Roark put an end to the panicked thoughts racing through Dorian’s mind with the next comment. “A match,” he announced clearly, voice echoing along the cavern walls. “Your Piplup against my strongest Gym Pokémon.”

The quiet that followed his statement indicated that even the nearby workers had halted to observe the interaction. Stunned, it took Dorian a few beats to even respond. “What? No!” he spluttered.

“Ah, c’mon!” Roark pressed, head cocked confidently. “You want to know about a challenger that defeated me, right? Well, as the Gym Leader, I need to see your potential as a Trainer. And, I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokémon that battle with you! You won’t get a word out of me otherwise.”

Dorian scowled, temper quickly taking over. “That’s completely ridiculous! I’m not even a real Trainer!”

“You’ve got a lab-issued starter Pokémon, which is good enough for me.” Roark folded his arms with finality. The grin on his face only grew in its determination. “Those are my terms. Meet me at my Gym when you’ve made a decision.” With that, the young man nodded his goodbyes to his workers, and strode back up the tunnel towards the exit.

Dorian turned to Kenna as Roark left in complete disbelief. It took him a few tries to find his voice, and when he did, it came out as a squeak.

“How am I supposed to win a Gym match?” he stammered, eyes still darting after the Gym Leader’s retreating figure. Though Dorian knew it was just wishful thinking, he was still waiting for the man to turn around and admit it was all a joke.

Kenna, much to his growing dismay, didn’t look the least bit surprised at how that interaction had gone. She shoved her hands into her pants pockets with a shrug. “Well you have a starter Pokémon. Why don’t you _start_ with her?” She then sniggered childishly at her own pun, only serving to frustrate Dorian.

“You’re hilarious,” he deadpanned, eying her cackling form flatly. “Really.”

The redhead emitted a loud sigh and slapped her hand hard on his back, causing him to grunt. “Relax, okay? Roark specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. Remember all those Geodudes that Nobu beat? You’ve got this in the bag.”

“He said he was using his strongest Pokémon!” Dorian argued, pushing her encouraging arm away to rub the now sore spot on his shoulder. Kenna just rolled her eyes at his antics before tugging at his elbow. Together they also began the trek out of the mine, both ignoring the interested looks the workers threw as they passed.

“Rock-types are still weak to water,” she explained reassuringly. “Play your cards right and you’ll be fine.” Seeing the dark-haired teens troubled expression persist, she added, “I’ll help you, okay?”

He eyed her doubtfully. “How are you going to do that?”

“Just give me a second alone with Nobu before the match. Everything will be okay.” She then gave the cheesiest thumbs up Dorian had ever seen, which only served to make him more anxious.

            ~`*`~

 

The Oreburgh Gym may have been the grandest building the city had to offer, but that didn’t say much. Dorian recalled his initial observations when he first arrived, and found them to be just as accurate during the morning daylight. The roof was a muddy orange color that blended with the rest of the surrounding architecture, and the Gym sign shone dully in the early sun. Dorian stared up in trepidation while Kenna shuffled impatiently at his side.

“You ready?” she prompted him with a pointed head tilt. The dark-haired teen wanted nothing more than to dig in his heels, but it would do him no good. Besides, this was for Kai.

Dorian breathed deeply, and nodded his head as confidently as he could. “Let’s do this.”

They stepped in tandem towards the sliding doors, and entered the air-conditioned chamber in front of them. Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting, Dorian could barely contain his surprise.

It was as if they had stepped right back into the underground mines. The cavern walls towered high above them, the craggy recesses creating natural divots and contours within the interior space. Even so, the air was cleaner than anywhere else in the city, and the light fixtures were spaced out evenly along the stone pathways in the Gym.

In the center of the marked arena stood Roark, patiently waiting with a Pokeball in hand.

“Good, you made it!” the Gym leader praised with a wave. “We can start whenever you’re ready. I even roped in our referee to make it an official match.” Roark gestured to the side where a man in a black-and-white striped shirt sat in a chair that was molded out of a nearby boulder. The ref raised his hand in quiet acknowledgement.

Dorian cleared his throat, and looked to Kenna for direction.

“Go ahead and release Nobu,” she encouraged with a smile. “It’ll be okay.”

Nervously, the teen did as instructed. The ball burst, and the Piplup emerged from the light with an excited chirp. The redhead smiled at the tiny penguin’s good mood, and knelt down close while Dorian looked on. His anxiety mounted with each beat his heart took in his chest, but whatever Kenna had planned for the Pokémon took all of a few seconds. She stood back up, and turned to the dark-haired teen with an easy grin.

“You’re good to go,” Kenna reassured with a consoling hand on his upper arm. “Just remember what you’ve learned so far. Nobu has the type advantage. Use it.”

Dorian tried to voice his thanks, but no sound escaped from his suddenly dry mouth. After his failed attempt, he only nodded.

“All set?” Roark called from his spot in the Trainer box. He had already released his Pokémon of choice for the match – a grey and blue dinosaur, two feet taller than the Piplup and crowned with blunt ridges all around its bulbous head. Dorian didn’t recognize this one either, but didn’t bother to take out the Pokedex. It wouldn’t have done him any good. The strange Pokémon pawed the ground with its large feet and gave a loud battle cry, clearly ready for a fight.

The dark-haired teen gulped. Idly, he realized that his hands were shaking. He slowly moved into the outlined box on the other end of the arena as Nobu waddled into position. Kenna also drifted off to the side where the spectator benches were placed against the far wall. It was time for the Gym challenge to begin.

“On the left, gym challenger Dorian Calder,” the ref called out into the silence. “On the right, Gym Leader Roark. This will be a one-on-one battle. Challengers ready!”

With bated breath, Dorian waited for the official flag to fall.

“Begin!”

At the signal, Roark threw his finger forward in command and the dinosaur lowered its dome-shaped skull charge towards the Piplup. Dorian nervously watched as it thundered closer. He didn’t have much of a strategy in mind, but took Kenna’s words to heart. Nobu had the type advantage in this match. But the other Pokémon would need to be in range for Nobu’s Bubble attack and it wasn’t quite there.

_A little closer…a little more…_

Nobu shifted hesitantly, eyes darting from the approaching foe to Dorian, who was doing the same thing. The dinosaur wasn’t all that fast, but was clearly gaining momentum and the teen found himself biting his lip nervously.

_Almost there… now!_

“Cranidos, use Headbutt!” Roark ordered a split second before Dorian opened his mouth, and the dark-haired teen watched in horror as the Cranidos made full contact with the little penguin’s small body. Nobu shot backwards across the arena from the force of the blow, tumbling head over heels several times before stumbling onto her feet. The attack clearly caught them both by surprise – Dorian had never seen her get hit that hard in a battle before. Stunned, he stared blankly as Nobu attempted to regain her bearings. Nobu was visibly wincing from the impact.

“Again!” the Gym leader directed. Dorian felt his heart skip a beat as he watched the dinosaur swing around to line its opponent back into its sights.

Frantically he found his voice.

“Nobu!” the bespectacled teen called in alarm, but again was too late. The Piplup was railroaded once more by the Cranidos, thrown to the side with a sharp cry.

This just kept happening, he thought to himself in despair as he watched Nobu shift weakly on the ground. Why was he such a failure? He could never meet his own expectations, let alone the ones set for him by others. This was so far from what he wanted. Why was he even challenging this gym? Nobu wasn’t supposed to get hurt. He just wanted to find Kai. Why was he doing this?

Dorian couldn’t help but shoot Kenna a look of desperation.

 _Help me_.

Bright blue eyes burned back at him from the sidelines. “Don’t give up,” she yelled with conviction through cupped hands. “Believe in Nobu!”

How could he? He barely believed in himself.

Anxiously he turned his attention back to his fallen Pokémon. “Nobu,” he called. There was no response, so he raised his voice. “Nobu!”

Seconds passed, and he flooded with relief when she wearily lifted her head to meet his gaze. Her large black eyes were tired, and obviously pained, but otherwise clear. The sight was enough to instill some sense of confidence in Dorian, and he took a deep, steadying breath. For now, this was his Pokémon. For now, he was a trainer. It was his responsibility to take care of Nobu. He couldn’t give up.

Dorian didn’t know where the words were coming from, but he held eye contact with the Piplup and murmured just loud enough for her to hear, “You can do this.”

For a beat, the Pokémon did nothing to acknowledge the words. Her beak opened and closed a few times before swallowing thickly. Ultimately, Nobu’s eyes narrowed with determination and she responded with a soft, but strong “Pip.”

“That’s the spirit!” Roark encouraged from the other side of the Gym with a sure grin. “Cranidos, let’s keep it going!”

_You can do this._

“Nobu, use Growl!” Dorian commanded sharply, cutting his eyes to the dinosaur Pokémon roaring their way.

Immediately, the penguin leapt steadily to her feet, and a low cry burst from her belly in a violent soundwave. The noise grew in intensity to the point where it resonated sonorously off the Gym walls. Caught off-guard, the Cranidos’ pace faltered seconds before making contact. Whether it was knocked off course by the sound, or distracted long enough for Nobu to shift just slightly to the side, the move was enough to prevent the Piplup from receiving the full brunt of the Headbutt attack. It hit, but Nobu took the blow in stride.

“Nice!” Dorian praised with a fierce grin, “Now, Bubble!”

Having just completed its last attack, the Cranidos was off-balance and could do little to fend off the assault. The two Pokémon were lined up perfectly, and Nobu’s opponent had nowhere to hide. Within seconds, the bubbles erupted from Piplup’s peak and exploded point-blank against the dinosaur’s flank. A pained roar escaped its gaping maw as the Pokémon backpedaled as fast as it could to get out of range.

“Cranidos!” Roark shouted. Dorian detected a note of panic in his voice, and it served only to feed his own conviction.

With fists curled unconsciously at his side, the dark-haired teen commanded, “Again!”

The Piplup was already in motion, rushing forward with her beak wide as glistening spheres rushed out of her body. The other Pokémon’s feet were sliding on the floor, now slippery from residual water. Continuously, the bubbles burst wetly against the rough hide of the Cranidos, and with one last bellow of agony, the rock Pokémon toppled over in a dead faint.

It was quiet for a few solid seconds after the final rumble ceased echoing against the Gym walls. Then, the ref at the edge of the area raised his flag and announced, “Cranidos is unable to battle. Dorian and his Piplup are the winner!”

Dorian could hardly believe it was already over. Nobu still stood shakily over the defeated Cranidos, breathing heavily.

They won.

Kenna began clapping loud and pointedly from the bench. “Way to go Dorian and Nobu!” she obnoxiously cheered, throwing in a few cat calls and whistles.

Embarrassed, Dorian pointedly ignored her and instead looked back at his exhausted Pokémon. Seeing her that roughed up reminded the teen of their first foray into the grasslands just outside of Sandgem Town, when she’d nearly been bested by a wild Shinx; it was hard to believe it happened only a few days ago. She’d clearly grown quite a bit without him even realizing it. Wordlessly, Dorian walked over to her and knelt down.

“You did great,” he told her with an easy half-smile, and she cooed softly in response. Tentatively, the teen raised his hand to gently pet her feathered head. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had ever touched the little Pokémon. The downy texture was surprisingly warm against his palm, and Nobu nuzzled further into the touch with a pleased croon.

“That was a solid match.” Roark’s voice spoke over his head, cutting through Dorian’s musings. Startled, the bespectacled teen stumbled into a standing position as he twisted to meet the beaten Gym Leader. The young man looked a bit put-out, but otherwise resigned to the outcome of the match. Roark offered a kind smile, and continued, “Equipping your Pokémon with a Berry. I didn’t think of that. Very resourceful.”

 _Berry?_ He didn’t understand, but then had a sudden realization. Kenna. That was what she did before the match. Earlier when Nobu was on the ground, she’d used the opportunity to eat the fruit for a power boost. Dorian really did owe the other trainer.

“Pokémon have a way of bringing people together,” Roark commented with something much like sadness. “But they can also be a means of escape. Adding family to the mix just makes things even more complicated.”

Dorian didn’t know what to say to these words, so he just stood there awkwardly as Roark twisted to contemplate the walls around them.

“You know my dad is the Gym leader at Canalave City?” he segued abruptly. Confused, Dorian shook his head. “I never saw myself following in his footsteps. I thought I would be more like my grandfather. He’s just a simple miner. But when I was volunteered for the position, I found it difficult to say no. Sometimes the expectations of family can influence your choices more than you realize.”

It felt like there was something Roark was trying to say, but Dorian had trouble following the Gym Leader’s train of thought. Brow wrinkled in puzzlement, Dorian hazarded to ask, “Are you trying to tell me something about Kai?”

Roark shook his head. “Your brother is a very talented trainer. He helped us with a wild Onix that showed up in the mines just a few days ago. I thought there was a chance that you would share some of that skill, so I pushed for you to challenge the gym.” The teen was surprised to hear more talk about his brother’s abilities to really care about the reference to his own. The other man sighed, unaware of Dorian’s distraction, and continued. “Pokémon can help us run from our problems just as easily as they can solve them. Whatever is going on between you two…I hope it get resolved sooner than later.”

“Wait.” Dorian finally digested the words the Gym Leader was saying. “So you tricked me into a battle just to compare me to Kai? You don’t know where he went?” Dorian could feel the joy of his win fade in the wake of his growing anger.

“Kai is trying to forge his own way. And yet, he’s taking the path all beginner trainers take,” Roark said, staring the dark-haired teen straight in the eye. The Gym Leader then put his hand in his pocket to pull out a small silver pin. He offered it to Dorian and continued, “According to Pokémon League rules, I have to give you our Gym Badge since you've beaten me, the Leader. Here's your official Pokémon League Coal Badge.”

Roark dropped the pin into Dorian’s palm, which the teen stared down at blankly.

“Whether you realize it or not, you’ve taken an important step. The rest will fall into place soon enough.”

 

~`*`~

 

Regardless of what Roark said, Dorian was done.

The immediate plan was to return to Jubilife City. He would do as his mother originally suggested and pay for a service to deliver the Pokedex to his brother. Nobu would be returned to Professor Rowan. And Dorian would go back to his job at Poketch.

Kenna would… Well, she’d finish whatever she was doing before Dorian rudely shanghaied her into helping him do this stupid trip in the first place.

Back in their room at the Pokémon Center, Dorian angrily repacked his bag for the third time. Every time he tried to get it his useless items to fit, he would get mad and start all over. Kenna had strategically vacated the scene once again, leaving the dark-haired teen to stew in his thoughts more than was undoubtedly productive.

The exhilarating thrill from his first major victory could do little to stave off the numbness that settled in after realizing that Kai was out of his reach. His plan had failed. He was even further behind than he had been before. If nothing else, it would have been better for Dorian to just sit tight at Jubilife and wait for Kai to return through the Gate.

_If he even did at all._

Dorian was fed up. Every stray thought he had – about his situation, about Kai, everything – just served to feed his anger.

“Damn it!” he yelled as his temper reached its peak, and began recklessly ripping the contents of his bag out to throw furiously around the room. Potions, clothes, camping supplies – nothing was safe. Mindlessly, the dark-haired teen’s hands closed around a Pokeball and, with a bellow of rage, Dorian threw it as hard as he could at the far wall.

The ball collided against the cement surface with a brutal crack and exploded open, the resulting white light catching Dorian by surprise. He hadn’t realized it had been Nobu’s ball.

When the brightness faded, the little Pokémon had reformed on his bottom bunk and was taking in the mess of the room. Nobu then turned her attention onto Dorian, looking more than a little concerned. The penguin chirped quietly as she watched him breathe heavily, and the wide-eyed look on her round face was enough to fill Dorian with shame. Shoulders sagging, he slumped onto the bed next to Nobu and let his head fall heavily into his hands with a groan.

The two sat in silence as the dark-haired teen tried to wrestle control of his emotions. While his mood cooled, Dorian could feel an overwhelming sense of helplessness creeping up his throat. It nearly strangled him, making it impossible to breathe. Reflexively, his fingers slid into his hair and pulled tightly.

 _Reign it in_ , he told himself, tugging painfully. _Reign it in._

Movement at his side wasn’t enough to catch his attention until Dorian felt something butting against his arm. Looking down, he found the Piplup cuddling innocently into his side. It was so unexpected that the bespectacled teen just stared as Nobu made herself comfortable, puffing up her plumage and letting it slowly deflate. Within seconds she was properly nestled and began warbling in the back of her throat. The sound was oddly soothing. Coupled with the Pokémon’s body heat against him, Dorian could feel his own body beginning to relax despite himself. His mind began to clear, and his breathing steadied. The beating of his heart wasn’t nearly as deafening in his ears.

It was like coming up for air.

After taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, Dorian looked around the room and absorbed the state of his surroundings with disappointment. He really had let his temper get the best of him again.

Glancing down, the dark-haired teen was surprised to find the crumpled white school tie that belonged to his little brother. Though Dorian kept it safely stored in his jacket, it had somehow made its way loose.

He bent to pick it up and ran his thumb across the silk fabric. It had been a good attempt, he decided internally. While events hadn’t gone according to plan, it hadn’t all been a complete waste of time. He had learned things. Tried things. That could be enough for now.

_Right?_

The Gym Badge that Roark gave him still pressed against his leg from inside his pant pocket. There had been no other place he could think to store it without it possibly getting lost. Struck with a sense of inspiration, Dorian pulled the pin free and attached it to the thickest part of the white tie. The fabric held the weight of the metal well. Satisfied, the teen sat back and observed the sight. Both glinted faintly in the florescent lighting of the Center dorm room. Beside him, Nobu made a small chirrup sound in her sleep, bringing a small smile to Dorian’s lips.

It was enough.

For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just as a side-note, I created a playthrough of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum with Dorian's imagined team. My Piplup did exactly what Dorian's did in the game to beat Roark. It was scarily close, but I won with a lvl. 15 Piplup. Anyway. Fun fact!
> 
> The next chapter is where things really begin to pick up. The plot does exist. Woo.


	5. Back to the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m afraid that you got yourself involved in a bigger problem than you realize,” Professor Rowan sighed. Gently, the silver-haired main guided Dorian to lean back against one of the brick buildings, lowering to one knee in order to better inspect the teen’s face. “That lot…they call themselves Team Galactic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found the plot! Thought I misplaced it there for a moment...

**~`*`~**

**Chapter Five: Back to the Start**

**~`*`~**

_They moved to Johto when she was nine years old, and Kenna had never felt so lost._

_She missed her home, her friends, her grandfather, and most importantly, she missed Pokémon. The town of Cherrybrooke didn’t have a gym, so not many notable travelers passed through. Those that did were coming from New Bark; young kids starting fresh on their journey. Kenna would watch longingly as the beginning trainers strayed through the town square, doe-eyed and already glowing at the prospect of becoming stars._

_It was a difficult change. Shortly after the family got settled in, the redhead fought her parents for the opportunity to study at the Trainer school in Violet City. It wasn’t a prestigious institution nor was it necessary to attend in order to become a trainer, but Kenna hungered for knowledge. She’d spent so long studying at her grandfather’s feet that she didn’t know how to do anything else. In all honesty, the little girl probably knew everything that the school had to offer, but it was the environment that mattered most. Kenna couldn’t approach her father with the subject – he was too angry and bitter to be unbiased. It was only because of her mother that she won her freedom._

_They agreed that Kenna would stay up in the dorms during the school week, and come home on the weekends to help around the house. The cost of living arrangements through the school were significant, but there were scholarships she could try for. In fact, there were several she was granted after she submitted her application to attend that covered housing and tuition. Despite her father still disapproving of her choices, there was little he could say on the matter without making life worse for all three of them. And so there was harmony, at least for a little while._

_The classes were never quite at the level Kenna required, but it was enough to keep her entertained. She made friends with all of her teachers, though not with many of the students since they were jealous of how she constantly out-performed them in each lesson. It didn’t bother her too much – she was there for the Pokémon, not the people._

_Still, one student in particular caught Kenna’s eye._

_During study hour one day, she met Natalie. She had to be the prettiest girl Kenna had ever seen, with her hair in dark ringlets and violet eyes that seemed to see through everything. While she sat in the back of the class and never spoke, the girl was always on Kenna’s radar. The few times that the learning material failed to hold her attention, Natalie kept her occupied. The redhead heard the way the girl would tap her pencil against her paper while she was lost in thought. She caught the shy smile Natalie would give anyone who happened to look her way. Kenna noticed everything, save for the sound of her voice._

_It was only later that Kenna learned that Natalie was deaf._

_“My Chimchar is deaf,” the redhead signed to the other girl after getting up the nerve to approach her. “It’s nice to meet you.”_

_They became fast friends after that._

_But school was quickly becoming boring. Half the subject matter was repetitive, and the other half Kenna soaked up readily. It got to the point where Kenna did her own research on the side just to stay busy, and the majority of her time in class was spent signing with Natalie about what they could do once they turned ten and could head out on their own._

_“We’ll get to see all sorts of things. There must be loads of Pokémon that no one has discovered yet. What do you want to do?”_

_Natalie would only ever smile sadly and change the subject._

_Finally, Kenna’s tenth birthday came. It passed during the week, so her parents had to come up to Violet City in order to celebrate as a family. They had gone out to dinner, just the three of them. She didn’t bother asking for any gifts. Kenna already had a Pokémon thanks to her grandfather, and there was very little chance of getting anything trainer-related from her parents. Her mom was supportive enough, but her father had to draw the line somewhere._

_Her birthday wish finally crossed it._

_“If you’re going to go out and pursue this reckless dream, you’ll have to do it yourself. We’re not helping you jump off any cliffs,” he’d said thunderously that night. Kenna had blown out her candles while voicing her desire to become the world’s best Pokémon trainer, and made the mistake of saying it loud enough for her parents to hear._

_“Fine by me,” she had responded coldly, “You’re no good at jumping anyway,” and escaped back to her dorms where Natalie waited. Angry, Kenna vented silently to the other girl about how unfair her parents were and how she didn’t care if her father didn’t want her to become a trainer._

_“I’m going to become one no matter what!”_

~`*`~

 

“I think I need a Paralyze Heal, because you're stunning.”

The beauty burst out laughing, slapping lightly at Kenna’s shoulder while the redhead grinned crookedly beside her on the couch.

Blonde hair. Green eyes. Rocking body. _Not bad for a chance meeting._

“Oh that’s so bad,” the other girl admonished, her chin-length hair falling forward stylishly as she bowed her head, giggling behind a lightly cupped hand. Short fingernails, Kenna noted. _Good sign_. “Does that line ever work?”

“Never, actually,” Kenna admitted with a light smile. “But it’s good for a laugh.”

The blonde was an Oreburgh resident that liked to frequent the local Pokémon Center, and had caught Kenna’s eye almost immediately upon entering the building yesterday. The goal had just been to pass some time while Dorian finished cleaning up. Center lobbies were the best place to pick up gossip on local events in the community. While Kenna had learned nothing of real interest the first time around, there wasn’t any harm in making nice. She had even managed to nab the girl’s number. But this time the other girl was proving to be far more entertaining company than originally imagined. Yesterday this one had been with a group of friends, but now here they were all alone. It would certainly be ideal under different circumstances.

If only Kenna could remember her name.

“So…” the blonde drawled pointedly, looking up at Kenna through her eyelashes with a flirty smile. The research assistant returned it reluctantly, already sensing where the conversation was going. “What’s your story? You from around here or what?”

Kenna chuckled and rubbed her hair through the beige beanie on her head. Everyone always had to ask about her _story._ “Not even remotely. And there’s not much to share to be honest. Right now I’m helping a friend get back to his home, so I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Well that’s no good,” the other girl commented with a pout. She looked genuinely disappointed which tugged a bit at Kenna’s heart. But there was no helping the truth. The beauty sighed and looked off towards the escalator. Head tilted toward the side, she nodded her chin, “Is that him? I recognize him from last time.”

The redhead followed her direction to find Dorian coming down the escalator from the second floor. His eyes were downcast, but overall he didn’t look nearly as wound-up as he had when Kenna left him in the dorm room. The outlook for their return trip was promising.

“Yep, that’s the one,” Kenna responded. She pushed herself off the couch and twisted back to the other girl. _Stacey? Lisa?_ There was an “s” sound in there somewhere… “Sorry to cut this short. It really was a pleasure getting to know you.”

“Yeah I bet,” the blonde grinned as she crossed her legs and leaned forward provocatively. The move accentuated the dip in her shirt and pulled her short jean skirt high, displaying an impressive expanse of skin. Kenna internally groaned. This girl really wasn’t playing fair. “Hey, I’ve got a line for you. Fair trade?”

The assistant hummed as she stared down at the beauty before glancing briefly in Dorian’s direction. He had just reached the ground floor and was slowly making his way towards the duo. “Okay,” she decided with a crooked smirk. “Hit on me.”

Languidly, the blonde uncurled herself from the couch cushions and stood to her full height. She was wearing wedged sandals that brought her just under Kenna’s eye line, much to the redhead’s amusement. She watched as the other girl fluffed her hair and straightened her clothes before pinning Kenna with her emerald gaze. Giving the assistant another half-smile, the blonde unclipped a uniquely-colored Pokeball from the belt slung low on her hips.

She tugged out Kenna’s hand and pressed it purposefully into the redhead’s palm. Then the beauty enunciated slowly, “For when we meet again. Hopefully you’ll be able to catch me at night next time?”

Kenna blinked.

“Huh?”

The blonde immediately dropped the seductive act and rolled her eyes so hard that her head went with them. “It’s a Dusk Ball,” the girl complained with her hands on her waist. She even added a tiny foot stomp that Kenna found entirely endearing. “It’s for catching Pokémon in dark places. You haven’t heard of them?”

“Oh!” Kenna half-laughed and shook her head emphatically at missing the innuendo. “No, I haven’t had a chance to test the new balls on the market. But that’s a good one! I’ll have to remember it.”

“Well it loses a bit of the magic when you have to explain,” the blonde grumped, folding her arms with another pout.

Smirking, Kenna leaned in, tilting her head in an effort to catch the girl’s gaze. “Did I ruin your line that badly?”

“No,” she sighed heavily. Glancing abashedly at Kenna, she finished with a reluctant smile, “You leaving did before I even gave it a try.”

“That was rude of me,” the redhead intoned with mock solemnity. She held the ball out to the girl with a chuckle. “How about I return this Dusk Ball to you so you can at least bestow it on a lucky traveler who will actually get the reference?”

The beauty shrugged one shoulder and shifted shyly. “Nah, go ahead and keep it. Consider it something to remember me by.” This was said with a soft wink before she took a breath and continued in a more serious tone, “Anyway, it looks like your friend is tired of waiting for us.”

The two looked over and found Dorian keeping his distance this time. While he didn’t look mad, he was staring out the Center doors with his arms crossed and feet tapping restlessly. Kenna laughed quietly to herself at the image, and was startled when the blonde took the opportunity to lean up and plant a soft kiss on Kenna’s cheek.

“You have my number. So I better see you around, cutie.” She sauntered off back towards the lounge, hips swinging with lingering intent that had Kenna quirking her lips. The girl really was something.

She _really_ wished she remembered the blonde’s name, though.

Absentmindedly, Kenna fiddled with the Dusk Ball in her hand, and took the chance to really observe the differences to a standard Pokeball. The sphere was slightly more bulbous on top, marked green with dark rivets that curved beneath her fingers. There was a red band wrapped around the circumference that was usually black. Kenna bit her lip in thought before pocketing it, and half-skipped towards where Dorian waited impatiently near the entrance of the Pokémon Center.

“Were you flirting again?” the dark-haired teen asked dryly once she was in ear shot.

“Me?” Kenna responded innocently, “I never flirt.”

 

~`*`~

 

They left the city without much preamble, making the trek down the same path they took two days before. The sun shone without a cloud in the sky, but the wind-chill coming off the mountainside made the going less than pleasant. It would be a relief to escape into the cover of the Gate. Along the way, Dorian paused briefly by the dusty Pokeball sign beside the entrance to the Oreburgh Gym with some sense of longing. That battle with Roark the day before would probably be the closest he’d ever get to being a Pokémon trainer. While he had abandoned the dream years ago, it was still a nice reminder.

His mind had trouble leaving the subject behind as he ambled distractedly behind Kenna’s decisive pace up the mountainside. The duo would make it through Oreburgh Gate by sundown, and likely set up camp in the same location as previously. Dorian mused over their time together, and came to a sudden realization.

“What Pokémon do you have?” he asked the redhead from behind as they approached the cave opening.

“What do you mean?” Kenna glanced over her shoulder with a confused frown. “You know I just have Aiden and Kid.”

Dorian shook his head and increased the length of his steps so that they were side-by-side. “No I mean before, when you were completing the Gym Challenge in Johto. What Pokémon did you use?”

“Ah, that.” She stopped right at the mouth of the Gate entrance, head cocked to the side pensively. Dorian slowed to a halt as the assistant hummed to herself. “I had a team of three.”

The dark-haired teen raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Just three?” he asked. Dorian had been under the impression that the whole experience would require a larger team than that. The League limit was six at a time, but often trainers rotated through several others as alternates if the situation called for a change in strategy.

But Kenna just nodded, before a stronger gust of wind encouraged them into the cave. “Not including Aiden, yeah,” she finished once they were inside.

“Aiden was with you?”

“Yep.” She said no more about that, lost in revisiting memories of the past. “I had Dayton, an Umbreon. Stella, my Crobat. And…” the redhead laughed a bit to herself before finishing, “Egbert. He’s my Raichu.”

Dorian couldn’t decide between being bewildered and amused. “Seriously? You named a Pokémon _Egbert?”_

“Well I got him as an egg when I was a kid, so yeah.” Kenna shrugged with a nostalgic smile. “I thought I was funny.”

“You’re terrible.”

“I know that now, but at the time it was perfect.”

Dorian watched Kenna maneuver gracefully around the rocky spires in their path as he mused over this new information. Their footsteps resonating off the uneven walls the only sound dominating the space. After a moment, he quietly nodded to himself before concluding with, “You must’ve been a strange child.”

“Who are you kidding?” the redhead scoffed, the noise echoing into the darkness of the cavern. She flashed him a toothy grin in the poor lighting. “I’m strange now. Anyway, I started with Aiden and caught Stella in a cave early on. I wandered in on accident, and it was so dark that I didn’t realize we’d reached a dead end. It’s also when I learned that Aiden can’t handle caves. His tail acts as a good light source, but he freaked out about not being able to use his other senses properly, so we got seriously lost. I lucked out and caught Stella, and she helped us find the exit. It was only after we escaped that I learned that the place was actually named _Dark Cave_. Absolute nightmare let me tell you. But, Stella was a worth every last terrifying second in there. She earned me my first two badges all by herself. Then, before my third badge, I got Dayton as an Eevee from Bill.”

“An Eevee? Aren’t those really rare?” Dorian frowned, trying to remember what he had learned about Eevees long ago. They were the standard example used to signify the number of variations in Pokémon evolution. But they were extremely hard to find – hardly any existed in the known wild, as far as Dorian could remember. They were more often than not handed down by family members as gifts. “That’s incredible.”

Kenna bobbed her head emphatically. “I know right? Bill works on the PC system in Johto and I know him through Professor Elm, so he had a bit of a soft spot for me when I was growing up. There was this orphaned Eevee that he found one day, so naturally he asked me to help out. Training Dayton was a lot of fun, but getting him to evolve into an Umbreon was kind of an accident. I was trying to evolve him into an Espeon.”

At this, Dorian struggled to recall the newest information on the Eevee evolution chain. Kai had been going on and on about it several months back…something about a matter of time…? Kenna glanced back again and laughed loudly when she caught the scrunched up look on his face. Embarrassed, the teen gave up and asked, “How were you trying to do that?”

“Eevee are very special Pokémon,” the redhead explained with a half-smile. “They grow based on their environment. While most Pokémon have a fixed and linear line of evolution, Eevee don’t. They can evolve if exposed to certain geological stones, the time of day, and there’s even talk of more variations yet to be discovered. Eevee can become Espeon if frequently exposed to the sun during the course of their growth, and become Umbreon if exposed to moonlight. That’s why I named mine Dayton. I had a bit of an agenda with him. Yet I still got an Umbreon. You know what makes it all even funnier?”

“What?” Dorian asked, feeling somewhat lost.

“Dayton is afraid of the dark!” The redhead cackled and the Gate magnified the sound, as if several Kennas were sharing in their own hilarity. “His evolution was a total accident. Because of him and Aiden, I limited my travels to the day, but I was trying to get some extra training in with Stella. I…well, I ran into a bit of trouble during our nightly exercise and Stella accidentally got knocked out. So I used Dayton instead. I wasn’t thinking, but Dayton managed to get me out of the jam and ended up evolving right after. I was so mad…” she sighed, shoulders sagging as she remembered that particular event. There was an unusual silence in which the redhead wrestled with some details of the recollection. After a beat, she shrugged and pushed on. “Anyway, an Umbreon is still a good Pokémon. It worked out well enough.”

Dorian didn’t really understand the humor, or the resulting seriousness, but found it interesting that Pokémon could have such human fears. Off-handedly, he wondered if Nobu had any such concerns. It hadn’t come up during their short time together on this journey... Still, reflecting on the young Pokémon distracted him from the matter at hand, so the dark-haired teen continued to press Kenna for more information.

“What about Egbert?” he asked the Pokémon assistant, who seemed to be getting lost in thought the longer the conversation went on.

“Oh, Egbert?” she looked up at the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, visibly sorting through her memory. “After I got my third badge, I spent some time at the daycare outside of Goldenrod City. They were a nice couple and I wanted to study the local wildlife. While I was there, they found a Pokémon egg. They had no idea who the parents were, and they were older so they didn’t want to keep it for themselves. I offered to take care of it until it hatched. Eventually I got a Pichu, and the rest is history.”

The stories were getting shorter, Dorian noted. Hesitantly he asked, “So where are they now?”

“Stella and Egbert are with Elm in Johto.”

Kenna’s voice maintained her casual tone, but from behind Dorian could tell there was tenseness in her posture. “You didn’t want to bring them with you?” he tried.

“Nope.”

There had to be more to it, but the other trainer seemed unwilling to open up any further.

“What about Dayton, where’s he?” he asked in one last attempt to bring some normalcy to the conversation.

The redhead shrugged. “I found a good home for him.”

Dorian sighed and gave up. The rest of the walk through the Gate was done in silence.

 

~`*`~

 

Thankfully, the strange atmosphere between the two seemed to clear by the time they exited the other side of the mountain. The wind had even died down some, making for an all-around tepid evening. Kenna started throwing out random facts about Pokémon she studied in the past, reminding Dorian strongly of the way Kai behaved any time after he visited the Sandgem lab. It was better than the uncomfortable quiet endured for the last leg of the trip, so the dark-haired teen encouraged the discussion, asking questions here and there to spur the other teen along despite not truly understanding the material. The subject lasted them all through setting up camp as the sun yet again set behind the peak of the Oreburgh Gate. Aiden had rejoined their group as soon as they were out of the cave, and Dorian passed several minutes just watching the little Pokémon swing happily through the trees surrounding them. It almost startled Dorian to find the scene so familiar, and felt another pang of longing at the prospect of it all coming to an end.

Sensing it was safe to steer the conversation towards another topic, the dark-haired teen took a chance with his next question. “So, how did you know that Nobu was a girl anyway?” he asked between bites of their food. This time it was some canned soup, which – though very heavily seasoned – didn’t taste nearly as bad as the curry from before. Dorian eyed his companion over the flickering of the firelight as Kenna stoked the burning logs. Aiden had since abandoned the canopies to doze curled up against the redhead’s side.

“Hm? What do you mean?” she asked absentmindedly, eyeing what could have been either a carrot or a potato on her spoon in the firelight.

Dorian swallowed the food in his mouth before elaborating. “It was back when we first met. We were at the Pokémon Center, and you said you knew because you studied Pokemon. But how?”

The redhead put down her bowl and stroked her chin contemplatively. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell. Not right away at least. But I had a hunch and, after traveling with you and seeing how she behaved, it was obvious.” She smiled at him, as if that was all that needed to be told.

But Dorian wasn’t convinced. He took another mouthful of his soup before jabbing his spoon at the other trainer. “But _how_ did you? What do you mean her behavior?”

Kenna sighed and shifted to face the dark-haired teen better. “I keep forgetting you don’t know certain thing about Pokemon. Let me explain it this way: Piplup have been used as Pokemon starters in Sinnoh for many generations. They’re prime favorites. But generally, the Piplup starters are always male. Can you guess why?”

“Um.” He thought for a beat before shaking his head. “No. Why?”

“In nature, female Piplups are outnumbered significantly by males.” She locked her arms around her knees to sit more comfortably. “It not only makes breeding difficult, but the population is severely out of balance. So Pokémon labs use Piplups and their evolutions to try and correct that. They keep the females in the lab, and give the males to young trainers.”

Dorian narrowed his eyes, still trying to understand. “Okay…?”

With a roll of her eyes, the redhead released her legs in order to stretch them out and leaned back on her palms. “The females are naturally more aggressive than the males,” she clarified further. “They tend to die off in the wild because they are more likely to try and fight their way out of a situation than flee to survive. It’s common for females in some Pokémon species – has to do with protecting their young. Because of that, it was thought by the League that female Piplups would be too hard for a new trainer to handle, so instead they’re given the male ones. The males are still plenty tough, just not to the point where they’ll get themselves killed doing something stupid. The females stay in the lab for breeding and research, but it also keeps them safe. That’s why when you said that you got your Piplup from Professor Rowan, I thought that he’d given you a male. But seeing how Nobu reacted to Kiddo when we first met, and every battle since then, I started to reconsider that. So, tada! Sleuthing complete.” She spread her arms wide with an equally large smile, as if waiting for applause.

Dorian ignored her, too busy absorbing the information with a furrowed brow. “I didn’t realize that Piplups could be so different.” He just thought of Nobu as a standard starter. How long had she been in the lab? Was this her first time being out in the world? It added a completely new dimension to the past few days.

“Crazy, right?” Kenna rubbed her head as she turned her attention back to the flames. They were beginning to die down, casting the area in low lighting. Out of boredom more than anything, the redhead picked up the previously discarded stick and resumed moving the logs. “Honestly, I’m surprised that Prof. Rowan would give up one of the starter females. It’s interesting that he thought you could handle her, especially knowing how inexperienced you were. He must have thought highly of your potential.”

“I guess…”

This occupied Dorian for the remainder of the night has he got ready for bed. Kenna set up her sleeping pad next to the fire prior to dinner, so she was already asleep with Aiden curled up tightly on her chest by the time he finished. Torn, the dark-haired teen stared down at her resting figure in the flickering light for a moment before wordlessly escaping into his tent for the remainder of the evening.

 

~`*`~

 

By the time they returned to the city limits for Jubilife, Dorian couldn’t figure out if he was relieved to be home, or disappointed that he ultimately failed at his goal. He had effectively sweated through and dirtied all the clothes he had chosen to bring with him, and his whole body ached from the nearly constant walking the past few days. Not to mention his stiff back from sleeping on the ground for the majority of the trip. It was hard to say what the dark-haired teen desired more – a decent meal, a decent bath, or a decent night’s sleep.

At Kenna’s suggestion, they went to the local Center to heal their respective Pokémon and grab a bite to eat. Dorian knew his own home had a better selection, but he was reluctant to part ways with the redhead too soon. So, the two meandered quietly down the busy streets of Jubilife City, just enjoying each other’s company and observing the city skyline, Spotting the familiar outline of the Poketch building in the background, Dorian felt a little strange – though he had been gone for less than a week, it was as if years had passed.

Walking into the Pokémon Center was equally surreal. The last time he had been there, he had stared at the trainers milling around the lobby, wondering what it was like to be part of their world. An intangible wall seemed to separate them from the rest of the populace. Now that his time with Nobu was coming to an end, Dorian was overcome with a sense of loss.

They placed their order at the front desk with the same nurse from before (or was she? Dorian couldn’t help staring at her pink hair with suspicion), and in return gave their Pokémon over to be healed. Dorian was quickly learning that Centers tended to provide sandwiches for lunch, since they were easy to customize, eat on the go, and make in a short period of time. Still, he picked at the limp lettuce with an unimpressed frown while Kenna shoved hers unceremoniously into her face.

“So,” she started after a massive swallow. Dorian cringed at the display, but the redhead didn’t notice. “What’s your plan after this?”

With a sigh, the dark-haired teen put down his uneaten sandwich. “I’ll just head home, honestly. Get cleaned up, check in with Poketch and see how things are going. Then I’ll have to look into a delivery service for the Pokedex for Kai…and after that, I’ll arrange to return Nobu to the Sandgem lab, since Rowan is elsewhere. That’s about the best I can do. You?”

Kenna took another huge bite, and chewed while nodding in understanding. “Probably back to Canalave. That’s where we last heard Rowan was going, right? And if not, I’ll just head north to Eterna. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll find him one way or another.”

It suddenly occurred to Dorian that he never really asked Kenna for more information on her errand for Professor Elm. She had followed Dorian all the way to Oreburgh and back without complaint, and hadn’t even accomplished her own goals in the process. “What do you need to talk to Rowan for again? You didn’t say before.”

“You’re right, I didn’t,” Kenna winked around her nearly finished sandwich. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said, it’s just a delivery. It’s not exactly time-sensitive, but sooner than later would be ideal.”

Reluctantly, Dorian let it drop. He didn’t want to push again and start a fight; there was no point in ending their journey on a foul note. Without much further discussion, the two finished their meal – well, Kenna did. Dorian took a few bites before calling it good, and Kenna eagerly ate what he refused to touch. She claimed that there were starving children in the world and wasting food was rude. The dark-haired teen fought the urge to argue the sandwich hardly qualified as nourishment, and instead let the comment slide. The duo then collected their Pokémon from the nurse, and exited the building for the last time together. Awkwardly, they lingered just outside the sliding doors as they struggled for something to say.

“Well,” Kenna started with a tight-lipped smile. “See you around?”

“See you around,” Dorian echoed solemnly. He would likely never see her again.

Regardless, the redhead gave her usual pointed smirk and a mock-salute for good measure, before casually turning away and walking down the path towards Canalave City. Dorian watched her go until it was impossible to distinguish her from the crowd of Jubilife citizens swarming the streets. With a heavy sigh, he turned to the northern part of the city and began the trek home.

The mid-afternoon sun hung high in the sky, its heat making everything seem brighter than usual. His mind drifted back to everything he had left behind – specifically at work. The dark-haired teen did not look forward to being stuck inside the Poketch office for an indefinite period of time. Granted, some app projects did allow him to travel, much like his father had when Dorian was younger. Perhaps one such business trip would coincidentally send him to the same city as Kai; they would run into each other on the streets, Kai fresh from winning one more Gym badge or perhaps making a new discovery about Pokémon, and Dorian commissioning yet another Poketch app. Kai would have matured by that point, both mentally and emotionally, and tempers on both sides would have cooled. They’d talk, and it would be like before.

It was a comforting thought.

Dorian’s lazy pace stuttered to a halt as he heard aggravated voices coming from the alley bend up the street. The sound echoed unchallenged in the afternoon air. There were no shops far north of town, so the area was mostly deserted save for the nearby residential homes. Immediately the dark-haired teen’s nerves were set on-edge. The Calder residence was only a few blocks further up, and required walking past the backstreet where the commotion emanated.

There was something that needed to be said about crime in Jubilife – it was a very rare thing. Other cities, like Oreburgh, were isolated enough that they required a clear community leader to help keep watch outside of the League police force. Many Gyms were established because cities needed support in the form of community services, and Gym Leaders were assigned to those cities to help maintain order. But not Jubilife City. It was a major hub for much of the technological advancement seen in Sinnoh, and so was often a self-monitored environment. There was no need to patrol the streets, because the community didn’t encourage unlawful behavior. Any crime that took place was rare, and resolution often involved harsh punishments.

The teen nervously side-eyed the shadowed opening, then turned to stare resolutely ahead at the cobblestone path and continue on his way. Whatever was going on in the recess of the buildings was none of his business. Except… a chance glance down the alleyway revealed a very strange sight.

There were three individuals in the alley – two of which had short cyan-colored hair and wore black and white space-inspired outfits. They were young, roughly the same age as Dorian, nearly identical in build and height. Both crowded an older man against the brickwork and grabbed aggressively at the brown leather briefcase he carried.

Dorian had to do a double-take when he noticed the older man was none other than Professor Rowan.

“Give it up old man!” one of the strangely-dressed figures snarled, tugging at one of the sides. “We need this research. Failure to comply will result in painful consequences!”

But the silver-haired man would not budge. “I would never release this information to people like you.” he announced in a firm voice with the handle of the case firmly in his grasp. “Unhand me at once!”

“P-professor?” Dorian stuttered, unable to contain his shock. His voice predictably caught the attention of the entire group, who froze at the interruption.

Rowan turned his head in mild surprise. “Dorian! What are you doing in town? I thought you were looking for your brother.”

“I…was…” the teen was very confused, eyes darting between the assailants and the older man. Despite being roughly pinned by random strangers trying to mug him, the Professor looked completely underwhelmed. “Sir, what’s going on here?”

“Never you mind!” the second of the cyan-haired goons spat, glaring daggers at Dorian. It was difficult to distinguish one from the other. They had the same bowl-shaped haircut, and had the same pinched look on their pale faces. One had a slightly deeper voice, but that was about it. “Keep moving unless you want to invite a show of force!”

But the professor had other ideas. Still struggling against the arms holding him in place, the older man leaned towards the teen as much as possible in order to speak, “Dorian! Do you still have the Pokémon I gave you at my lab?”

“Y-yes?” Dorian’s eyes continued to shift between the glares he was receiving from the two thugs, and Professor Rowan’s earnest expression.

“The research in this briefcase is very sensitive! It cannot fall into the wrong hands. Help me and take care of these two fools!”

At this, both grunts widened their eyes in rage. “No!” the one gripping the case howled in frustration, and tugged all the harder. “We are Team Galactic! We will not stand for this!”

The two warred over the casing, yanking with increasing strength until the handle in Professor Rowan’s grasp finally snapped. The force of the release caused the briefcase to fly out of both pairs of hands, arching high in the air. All four silently watched its progression as it started to descend…and landed with a loud thump right at Dorian’s feet.

There was a slight pause before all hell broke loose.

“Get him!” the goon pinning Rowan ordered the other in his slightly higher voice. The second immediately charged forward.

Rowan threw a panicked look in the dark-haired teen’s direction. “Dorian!” he urged again, eyes locked on the briefcase. “Your Pokémon!”

Dorian didn’t have to be told twice. His hands scrambled to find the pokeball at his waist as the cyan-haired man charged ever closer. “Nobu, go!” the teen shouted, tossing the ball in front of him. It burst open with a flash, and the Piplup puffed up importantly as she took in the situation.

The pursuing goon skidded to a halt, and sneered derisively. “You’re not the only one with Pokémon.” The man reached for his own belt to grab his own capsule. “Go, Stunky! Take care of his Pokémon while I get the case!”

The ball arched and released another surge of light that took the form of yet another Pokémon Dorian didn’t recognize. It was a squat, spikey skunk with purple coloring, roughly the same size as Nobu. Its beady eyes fixed on the penguin with open hostility. Dorian didn’t have much time to observe, however, as the cyan-haired man suddenly lunged for the briefcase at the teen’s feet. Startled by the move, Dorian ducked to scrape the case clumsily from the cobblestone path and took a mad dash in a random direction, just to avoid being caught by the other man’s outstretched hands. The grunt cursed loudly, and Dorian could hear his heavy footsteps echoing behind him.

Still, the odds didn’t look so bad, until the goon from the alley shouted, “You too Glameow!” With one hand, the other man also tossed a ball in their direction, and Dorian caught sight of a slinky grey cat slowly stalking up next to the Stunky. The two Pokémon eyed their prey with confidence.

“Hey!” Dorian yelled as he ran, his voice cracking, “Two against one is cheating!”

“You really think we care about obeying the dumb League rules right now?” the goon mocked loudly behind him. From the sound of it, the man was right on his heels.

Dorian gritted his teeth and swerved sharply back in the direction of the Pokémon. “Nobu!” he commanded. “Do what you need to do! Keep them busy!”

The Pokémon barely had time to chirp in understanding before the teen abruptly bolted down yet another alley, this one slightly wider. Dorian had lived in this city for over ten years, so he had a decent understanding of the street layout in this part of town. He continued to take wild turns left and right, weaving through the narrow backstreet maze of Jubilife City. The goon would be hard-pressed to keep up.

Even so, Dorian was quickly running out of breath. He wasn’t a very active person, and the briefcase thumping awkwardly against his thin chest made his arms ache. The recent trip to Oreburgh was the most exercise he’d had in a while, and the whole journey drained him of any excess energy. He hoped that Nobu was holding up alright. Against his better judgement, the thought guided his feet back in the direction he came. Panting, Dorian swerved back into the alley by Professor Rowan – only, his shoes slid on the loose gravel. The teen abruptly lost his footing, skidding so suddenly he couldn’t even throw his arms out to brace himself. With a resounding thud, his whole body collided with the ground, glasses tumbling from Dorian’s face and clattering on the cobblestones. The sudden taste of blood invaded his mouth – he’d bitten the inside of his cheek.

“Gotcha!” The man half-crowed, half-panted victoriously while standing over the teen. A hand reached down and roughly grabbed the lapel of Dorian’s jacket and jerked him into a sitting position. Angry, the teen pulled the briefcase closer to his chest with one arm and grabbed the foreign wrist with his other hand in order to free himself, but the grip was too strong. “Now to get that research and put you out of commission for good.”

Without missing a beat, the cyan-haired man cocked his other fist back and slammed it into the side of Dorian’s face before the teen could even see it coming. His neck snapped to the side from the impact, and he gave a sharp cry of pain. Blood-stained spittle dripped onto the stone path from the trail at the corner of Dorian’s mouth. Grinning with satisfaction, the grunt pulled his arm back in preparation for another blow.

A long, chilling screech at the mouth of the alley made the man freeze in place.

Confused, the grunt glanced up towards the noise and immediately paled at what he saw. Dorian let his head loll back, just barely able to make out a bleary white glow coming from one of the three Pokémon still grouped behind them. Whatever was happening seemed to have everyone captivated – Dorian wished he still had his glasses.

The light grew brighter and brighter, to the point where the dark-haired teen had to squint to avoid being truly blinded, before it disappeared entirely. One of the blurry shapes had gotten bigger, but it wasn’t clear which one it was. A new shriek came from the Pokémon, a sound Dorian didn’t find familiar.

“Stop it!” the grunt above him ordered the Galactic Pokémon, clearly panicking. There was a flurry of movement followed by animalistic cries as the three battled on, before it all came to an immediate end. The teen watched as the smaller figures seemed to collapse in a heap at the feet of the larger Pokémon. With another vicious sound, the dark shape rushed towards the two, causing the cyan-haired man to release Dorian in order to get out of range. The teen fell back unexpectedly, his skull making a dull thump on the ground. Still, as the Pokémon got closer, it came more into focus. Dark blue feathers coated its back and wings, a golden-yellow crest formed a v-shape along its brow, and intense sapphire eyes glared daggers at the Galactic thug.

Dorian narrowed his eyes as he stared up in wonder. “Nobu?”

Sure enough, the newly evolved Pokémon stood protectively over Dorian’s prone body as she stared down her current enemy. The larger penguin hissed menacingly, inflating her feathers to intimidate the man even further. Looking closer, Dorian noticed that the tip of each flipper took on an ominous glow.

The dark-haired teen wasn’t the only one who realized that those flippers could mean nothing good.“Re...Retreat!” the grunt called to his partner, and fled the alley.

Immediately the other released Professor Rowan and was hot on his partner’s heels. The two only paused to recall their beaten Pokémon still sprawled on the cobblestone path. In seconds, they were out of sight. Dorian remained motionless on the ground, pained and still trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened. He essentially just saved Professor Rowan from being mugged in the alley by two gang members. In Jubilife City of all places. Well, actually _he_ hadn’t… Nobu had. And then she’d…

With an agonized groan, the dark-haired teen rolled on his side and slowly pushed his body into a kneeling position. His whole left side was sore from his earlier tumble; even breathing caused him some discomfort. Dorian was positive he had to have bruised a few of his ribs. Still, he blindly reached around for his glasses, hoping they didn’t break from the fall. A kind touch on his shoulder caught his attention, and the next second Professor Rowan settled Dorian’s spectacles on the teen’s surprised face.

“Are you alright?” the older man asked gravely as he came into focus.

Tentatively, Dorian tongued the cut on the inside of his mouth and winced. The movement pulled at the skin beginning to swell on his cheekbone, which then forced him to inhale sharply. Breathing only served to remind him of his battered ribs…The cycle was never-ending. “I think so,” he answered after holding the lungful of air for a beat. Dorian released his gasp slowly in an effort to avoid even more pain. “What just happened?”

“I’m afraid that you got yourself involved in a bigger problem than you realize,” Professor Rowan sighed. Gently, the silver-haired main guided Dorian to lean back against one of the brick buildings, lowering to one knee in order to better inspect the teen’s face. “That lot…they call themselves Team Galactic.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Dorian muttered, still more than a little confused. He flinched as the older man’s rough fingers prodded the bump forming under his left eye. “What did they want with you? They said something about your research.” At this, the dark-haired teen glanced down at the briefcase still clutched against his chest.

Professor Rowan nodded heavily, and placed one weathered hand on the leather case. “When Pokémon evolve, they seem to release some type of energy, as was demonstrated by your Piplup earlier. I believe it to be a mystic power beyond our control, but Team Galactic seems to be studying that power’s potential. They want to know if it can be used as energy for something.”

“Energy, huh?” Dorian tilted his head a bit to find Nobu next to him, large blue eyes staring at him with worry. She was another foot taller now, nearly the same height as he was sitting down. Seeing she had his attention, the penguin shifted closer and cooed in concern. The teen couldn’t help but give a half-smile in response. Lifting his hand, he used the back of his fingers to stroke the downy baby-blue feathers of her chest comfortingly. “It’s okay, good girl. You were great.”

The professor observed the interaction with a critical eye. “I must say, I’m impressed at how well you two are getting along. When I gave you Piplup, I knew she would be in good hands. But it seems she’s become quite attached to you. She wouldn’t have evolved into a Prinplup were that not the case.”

At this, Nobu gave another affectionate warble, causing Dorian to flush and bow his head. A part of him felt incredibly guilty by the praise. “Professor, I’m sorry. I had every intention of returning her to you after I got back.”

“My dear boy… That was never a concern.” The older man took a deep, troubled breath. “In fact, another worry is weighing rather heavily on my mind at the moment. This is not the first time someone has come after me for my research, but there’s more to it than that. There is something unsettling in the works. This Team Galactic, they’re after something specific; something I and only one other have studied to any real extent as of late.”

Dorian frowned. “Who is that?”

The inquiry caused Rowan to glare at Dorian with mild indignation. “Why, your brother of course. Hasn’t he told you he’s been helping me at the lab recently?”

The teen’s already foggy mind stuttered to a halt.

_Kai._

Kai had been… But Dorian had told him he was too young to be of much use. Yet now there were shady character with questionable moral integrity going around attacking world-renown Pokémon professors in broad daylight to get information. If Kai had been part of that research, then that meant…

“Will they go after Kai?” Dorian demanded with renewed vigor. “Is he in danger?”

“That, I cannot say,” Professor Rowan grumbled, and the dark-haired teen felt his alarm spike. “They may not even know of his involvement yet. And, thanks to you, nothing came of this most recent encounter. But it could be only a matter of time. I must continue my research in the event that they persist in their experimentation with Pokémon evolution.”

Rowan smoothly relieved Dorian of the leather case he still held in his grasp, and popped the latches to reveal several file folders and one loose Pokeball. He claimed the red and white sphere before fastening the briefcase shut. Then, the older man rose from his crouched position and released the Pokémon in one effortless motion. Immediately the bright light took the figure of a large bird about five feet tall, with brown feathers and bushy plumage that swooped into the shape of two horns sprouting from its head. It hooted calmly at the sight of its master before spreading its wings in preparation for mount.

“Professor?” Dorian asked, slowly getting to his feet as the professor settled the briefcase on the Pokémon’s back. The gradual movement still caused him to wince, and the teen immediately wrapped an arm around his middle to grasp at his bruised side to maintain his focus. Once he had the older man’s attention, however, Dorian hesitated. Finally, he settled with, “If you run into Kai, can you let him know I’m looking for him? And that…I hope he’s safe.”

The grey-haired man nodded gravely. “You have my word, boy.” With that, he clambered onto the owl’s expansive back and prepared to take off. A few pumps of the sizeable wingspan kicked up the settled dust and spare leaves on the barren street, causing Dorian to raise his arms to protect his eyes from the unexpected gusts. Seconds later, professor and Pokémon were airborne, sailing higher and higher on the wind current until they were far above the city’s skyline. Not too longer after that, they were a speck in the distance. Then they were gone.

Dorian stood with Nobu in silence the entire time, lost in thought. However, a familiar voice calling his name pulled him back into the present. Carefully twisting around so as to avoid jarring his side again, the dark-haired teen was surprised to find the one person he was sure he’d never see again, accompanied by someone he’d never seen before at all.

“Dorian!” Kenna yelled, waving her arm as she ran towards them. Behind her ran an unfamiliar man with rich brown hair and a severe countenance, his tan trench coat flapping dramatically behind him as the two made their hasty approach. As they got closer, Kenna’s face morphed from excitement to concern as she realized there was blood on Dorian’s face and saw him holding his side.

She hurriedly closed the distance, pressing at the bruising under his eye and tutting as soon as she was in reach, all the while ignoring the other teen’s annoyed comments to leave him alone. “What happened?” Kenna demanded, then immediately shook her head as soon as Dorian’s mouth opened to respond, “never mind. Let’s just get you back to the Center. They can look over Nobu and put some ice on that shiner. Something tells me you didn’t just hit your head on a rock.”

 

~`*`~

 

It turns out that the alleyway skirmish hadn’t been as isolated as Dorian had thought. Some concerned neighbor had seen Professor Rowan getting cornered by two thugs, and had called the hotline dedicated to reporting suspicious behavior. It just so happened that Dorian got involved just as the International Police dispatched one of their officers to address the situation. The officer in question was code-named “Looker” – the same man in the suit and trench coat who accompanied Kenna on the way to the alley.

Kenna explained, amidst plenty of eye-rolling, that Looker had stopped the redhead shortly after their departure from the Pokémon Center and was in the middle of interrogating her when he got the call. She then overheard that Professor Rowan was in danger, and immediately joined the League officer in tracking down the location where they found Dorian instead.

“Why was he interrogating you anyway?” Dorian asked, thoroughly confused as he stared at the haughty man in question. Once they had arrived, the group had found a secluded hallway of the Pokémon Center to tend to Dorian’s injuries. The nurse at the front desk had also taken in Nobu, stating that the newly evolved Pokémon had expended quite a bit of energy and needed to recuperate. The dark-haired teen sat in one of the lobby chairs with a cloth-wrapped bag of ice gently held to his face, and waited for his Pokémon to be healed while both Kenna and Looker stood over him. Dorian’s glasses rested at the crown of his head so that they wouldn’t get lost.

“ _Apparently_ there have been reports of individuals with weird-colored hair participating in unlawful activities,” Kenna shared with an exasperated glance at the officer. “And _apparently_ red hair is a weird color.”

“It _is_ a weird color,” the officer named Looker insisted petulantly, arms stiff at his sides. He spoke with a strange accent that Dorian couldn’t quite place. “Do I have red hair? Do you see anyone else in this building that has red hair?”

“The nurse has pink hair,” Dorian offered, gesturing with his head towards the front desk.

Looker turned up his nose and waved a hand dismissively, “All nurses have pink hair.”

In turn, Dorian gave a detailed account of the conflict, taking special care to include as much detail about the individuals’ appearances and their goals. Looker was at least very attentive in this area. The teen hoped beyond all hope that this would help deter Team Galactic from going after his brother. The more public their aims, perhaps the more exposed they would be. At the very least, maybe Kai would catch word and be on his guard.

“Very well,” Looker announced as he finished jotting down the last of Dorian’s statement. “This will be enough to begin my investigation. If you are to see me again, it would be best to not talk to me. I will most likely be undercover.”

He said this so seriously that Dorian didn’t know how to react. Kenna, on the other hand, was visibly holding back her laughter. Looker nodded his farewell and began to walk away, the twirl of his trench coat making for a dramatic exit. However, he only took a few steps before he whirled around and approached them once more.

“No, wait, I have changed my mind. You may speak to me. But this is only because I need to be informed of any news of this Team Galactic. So if you have news, you tell me. Yes? Good.” Again the brown-haired officer gave a perfunctory nod, pivoted on his heel with flair, and managed to leave the premises without further incident.

Dorian watched him go, completely bemused by the man. Idly he wondered if all members of the International Police were as strange as Looker. Still, if that was who was in charge of public safety…

“In all seriousness, are you okay?” Kenna asked, bending down to catch the dark-haired teen’s eye. “Looks like you took quite the punch. And those were some bruises on your ribs earlier too.”

He shook his head distractedly, wrapping his free arm around his waist at the reminder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I just can’t stop thinking about what Professor Rowan told me about Kai. This whole thing was so simple when it was just about returning his Pokedex. Now that Team Galactic is going after my brother…”

“Are they though?” the redhead interrupted with a thoughtful tilt of the head. “You said that Kai had been helping the professor with his research, but it doesn’t sound like that information has been made public. The only reason your brother would be in danger is if he was announcing that information himself.”

Dorian scowled at the thought. Announcing that he worked with Professor Rowan sounded _exactly_ like something Kai would do. The brat couldn’t keep that kind of knowledge quiet; he was always seeking recognition.

“Besides, isn’t this out of your hands now?” she continued with a shrug. “I thought you were planning on calling it quits.”

The comment was phrased innocently enough, and Kenna made a point of keeping her face straight as she said it. But Dorian had spent enough time with the other trainer at this point to know when he was being manipulated. Normally he wouldn’t fall for it. That _had_ been his plan, and it was a sound one too. There was no reason for him to go traipsing across Sinnoh just to give his brother his Pokedex back. However, the appearance of Team Galactic once again changed things. It wasn’t just about playing delivery boy – his brother’s safety was now at stake. Kai couldn’t fall unwittingly into their path, not if Dorian could do something about it.

Now it was just a matter of figuring out what he _could_ do about it.

In the meantime, he needed to change tactics. “What about you?” Dorian asked pointedly. “I would have thought you’d be on your way to Canalave by now, since you missed Professor Rowan again.”

“Well obviously he’s not _in_ Canalave City, is he?” the redhead scoffed, folding her arms in irritation. “If anything it looks like he’s gone in the direction of Eterna. I’ll be heading that way in a bit. The question is, are you coming with me or not?”

Dorian blinked, absolutely stunned.

Catching the look on his face, Kenna sighed and crouched low so that the two were at the same eye-level. “Here’s what I’m thinking. Something is going down in Sinnoh, and your brother is on the verge of getting caught up in its teeth. The professor seems to have his fingers on the beast’s pulse, which means our paths run parallel. I’ll help you track down Kai, so long as you help me find the professor. Same situation as before, with just a tad bit more urgency. Deal?”

The answer was obvious. Dorian opened his mouth to say so, but a question sprang to his lips before he could stop it.

“What is your errand for Professor Rowan?”

Though caught off-guard by the question, this time Kenna did not immediately avoid answering. Instead, she sunk fully to the ground in a crouch and beckoned Dorian to lean closer. The redhead then pulled her satchel between her legs and pinned the other teen with her electric blue stare. “What I’m going to show you is a secret,” she stated in a low voice. “It’s not nearly at the level of the professor’s current research, but it’s also not something I need to have advertised. Alright?”

Swallowing nervously, the teen nodded. Kenna mirrored the nod before lifting the flap of her bag to expose the contents hidden within.

There, nestled among the redhead’s sparse belongings and cushioned by the one change of clothes she carried with her, was a Pokémon egg. It was startlingly white, with a random pattern of red and blue triangles spreading across its surface. Seeing its shape expanding the fabric of the bag, Dorian realized that this had been what he’d seen Kenna arranging that one morning at the campsite beside the Oreburgh Gate. That bulge had also been noticeable when they had first met on the way from Sandgem. She’d had it with her all this time.

“Professor Elm specializes in Pokémon breeding in Johto, but Rowan focuses on evolution,” she explained, looking down at the egg. “Elm thought that this particular specimen would catch his interest. So while it would be preferred that Rowan receive this before it hatches, it’s not entirely necessary. Even so, time is running out.” She closed the flap and resituated the satchel at her side with familiarity. Once this was done, Kenna looked the other teen straight in the eye. Again she wore the serious expression he had only seen a handful of times before. “Now, will you come with me or not?”

Thoughts swirled in Dorian’s mind. Menial ones – restocking his clothing options, eating a decent meal for the first time in three days, the desire for a good night’s sleep was becoming more and more unattainable by the second, his body hurt, he hadn’t even given work a second thought, and _Arceus_ he needed to call his mom – warred with the one most prominent in his mind.

He had to protect Kai.

“I’ll come with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're on our way! Please feel free to let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback, whether it be supportive or critical. And, as always, thank you for reading!


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